


Calculated Risk

by Galaxaria



Category: Power Rangers, Power Rangers Jungle Fury
Genre: A couple of vague crossovers happen, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Established Relationship, F/M, Taking the plot line and yanking it to the left!, a what-if fic, headcanons galore
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:55:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 49,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26186035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Galaxaria/pseuds/Galaxaria
Summary: Prior to the series, RJ and Fran become a couple. When duty calls and foreboding times are on the horizon, RJ finds himself refusing to say goodbye to Fran. Instead, he opens up to her and tells her everything. This is what happens when Fran finds out much sooner about Pai Zhua, Dai Shi and the Power Rangers and what happens after. Strap in readers! This story will be interesting!
Relationships: Camille/Jarrod (Power Rangers), Fran/Robert "R. J." James
Comments: 9
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: When RJ Met Fran

* * *

A jeep calmly wove its way through the noontime traffic on the streets of Ocean Bluff. Within minutes, it stopped at its destination, Pembroke University. Though modest in its prestige, the school was rather nice to look at. The jeep wasn’t parked in front of the main building, but the library, the college’s oldest building. A two story edifice that was made of stone and held aloft by marble pillars, the library honestly looked like something straight out of the pages of either a history text or a fairytale. This thought was reinforced by the twining vines that cascaded down from the building’s roof and the presence of at least three stain glass windows.

“I’m surprised there’s no moat or drawbridge,” the jeep’s driver murmured as he hopped out of the vehicle. He snickered at the thought that the building was secretly a tiny castle with a dragon or some other mythical creature awaiting him. Reaching back into his truck, the driver pulled out two pizza boxes. Balancing them on one hand, he closed the jeep’s door and sauntered his way into the library.

After asking for directions to the library staff room, the young man headed toward the back of the main floor. As he walked, he took note of the bookshelves that were filled to the brim with books and catalogues, grinning as he noted that they weren’t stringently filed away but rather were haphazardly piled here and there. The delivery man also took note that not all of the students were actually buried in their books. Paper airplanes were thrown about to his left while to his right; there was a ring of students playing hackey sack. And was that his imagination or did he see a soccer ball go by?

He may not have had a traditional upbringing, but he was fairly certain that colleges weren’t supposed to be so lax. Then again, he considered, it was May. Finals were happening this month that much he knew. He just didn’t expect to see this level of goofing off happening in a library of all places.

Shaking his head, but not bothering to judge, he knocked on the glass door of one of the library’s offices and pasted on his best customer service smile. After a two minute exchange of food and payment plus a tip, the young man whistled as he pocketed the cash and headed back toward the front of the library. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the hackey sack went wild, too far away from him to catch. He winced as he saw it hit a poor young woman on the side of her head as she balanced precariously on a rolling ladder.

She shrieked and completely lost her balance, her body twisting to the side and falling to the ground. Without a second thought, the young man shot forward and caught her securely in his arms, breathing a sigh of relief that he had made it and that they were far away enough from the tables that she hadn’t hit her head on the way down.

He looked down at the girl he held and grinned. “Having fun?” He asked her lightly.

“Oh yeah,” she huffed. “A real blast.”

“I can see that.” Setting his rescue on her feet, he held out a hand. “I’m RJ.”

Shaking his hand she replied, “Fran.” Smiling sheepishly and gesturing to the ladder she had just been knocked off of, she said, “Thank you for the save there.”

“No problem,” RJ grinned. “Glad to have been in the right place and at the right time.”

“Yeah me too,” Fran laughed.

A tall blonde male freshman came rushing over to the pair. “Oh my gosh, Fran, are you alright? I’m so sorry; I didn’t mean to kick so hard!”

Fran waved him off before spotting the offensive hackey sack. She scooped it up and dropped it into the horrified boy’s hand. “I’m okay, Paul.” She nodded toward RJ. “Luckily RJ here had my back. You might want to consider taking your game outside though. You know how protective Mrs. Jones gets over the stain glass windows and your group was standing awfully close to one of them.”

Blanching, Paul could only nod before running back toward his friends, all but beginning to haul them toward the library exit.

RJ lightly nudged Fran’s arm. “Big woman on campus?”

She snorted. “Hardly. I’m one of the TAs for the English department as I go after my master’s in library science.” She tilted her head as she studied her new acquaintance thoughtfully. “I don’t think I’ve seen _you_ on campus before. Are you new here?”

“Actually I’m not a student,” RJ said. “I’m actually just dropping off a couple of pizzas that were ordered a little while ago. I own this new restaurant called Jungle Karma Pizza.”

“Oh yeah!” Fran brightened at the name of the pizzeria. “I’ve been meaning to check it out.”

“Really?”

Fran blushed. “I’m not sure if this counts as an Italian stereotype or not because that’s my heritage but I _really_ love pizza. Plus the name just sounds so cool so I was certain that the restaurant must be just as great on the inside, food included.”

RJ tried not to grin too widely at that, wanting to maintain some semblance of being humble. “I like to think so.”

Fran laughed but there was no mockery in the sound. “I’m sure you do.” She grew slightly concerned. “I’m not holding you up from any potential customers, am I?”

“Nah,” RJ replied with a shake of his head. “It was practically dead in there. Like I said, the place is really new and I’m not that great at getting the word out.” He rubbed the back of his head, giving a wild look to his already shaggy hair. “Gonna have to work on that, really.”

He shrugged, adding, “At least I didn’t leave the oven on this time…” his sea green eyes widened as he considered the possibility that he hadn’t actually done that. “I think. Better go and check that out.” He smiled awkwardly at Fran. “I’ll see you there one day?”

“Definitely,” Fran affirmed.

“Looking forward to it,” RJ replied sincerely as he began to back away. Once she was out of his sight, RJ spun around and sped out of the library at a just respectful enough pace that the librarians whom were actually paying attention to the goings on within the library wouldn’t humiliate him with a loud scolding.

Tearing through traffic and making back home without getting a ticket by the skin of his teeth, RJ ran into his new restaurant, greatly relieved that there was no smoke filling the dining room and as he darted into the kitchen, he saw that the oven was indeed off.

“Karma’s still good,” he muttered to himself as he leaned against the counter, catching his breath. His restaurant wasn’t burning to the ground, he’d gotten a nice tip at the library, and even better—he had a potential new friend who was both cute and rather sassy.

RJ hoped that Fran would visit Jungle Karma Pizza soon.

* * *

Fran bit her lip as she hesitated near the entrance of Jungle Karma Pizza. It had been nearly a week since RJ had saved her from a humiliating fall and she had yet to go in. The reason for her hesitation was the small cream colored box she clutched in her hands. It contained homemade cannoli Fran intended to give to RJ as a thank you for catching her. Baking was one of the few creative outlets Fran had and in the back of her mind she could remember her grandmother standing in her kitchen in the countryside of Florence swearing up and down to a young Fran every summer that there was nothing like a box of baked goods made from scratch to help forge the bonds of friendship.

Still as Fran continued to dither in front of JKP, she worried that RJ would think she was silly. That was why she hadn’t shown up until today. She shook her head as soon as the thought floated through her mind. Granted she only knew the guy for five minutes but Fran was certain that RJ wouldn’t tease her over the pastries. Okay, so he wouldn’t tease her _much_ , she amended as she recalled more of their introductory interaction.

Steeling herself, Fran marched into Jungle Karma Pizza and began casually looking around for a mane of light brown hair and a carefree, charismatic grin.

She jumped when a loud, excited voice proclaimed, “There you are!”

Whirling around, Fran saw a beaming RJ quickly making his way to her side. “I thought you weren’t ever going to show up!”

She wrapped her tattered dignity about her like a cloak and gave a light sniff. “Finals are coming up and I _am_ a TA.” She looked up at him coyly. “Did you forget?”

RJ laughed sheepishly. “Maybe a little,” he admitted.

“I’ll forgive you,” Fran winked. “Just this once.”

“I’ll take it.” He eyed the box in her hands. “Ooh, what do you have there?”

Fran looked down at the box, blushing before shoving it into his hands. “A thank you for saving me.”

RJ was touched. “Aw, you didn’t have to get me anything for helping you.” Removing the lid, his eyes widened in delight. “You got me cannoli?” He examined the box when the lid didn’t provide him with the name of a bakery. “Where did you get them from? There’s no label, not even from the supermarket.”

Fran moved her gaze to her shoes as she clasped her fingers together, betraying her nervousness. “I made them,” she replied shyly.

RJ looked at her in astonishment and slight awe. “These are homemade? From _scratch?”_

She glanced up at him, bemused. “I don’t suppose you know of a box mix for cannoli?”

“I do not,” he admitted with a growing smile. “This is sweet of you. But like I said, you didn’t have to get or make me anything.”

Her nerves getting the best of her, Fran’s explanation came tumbling from her lips. “I-I just really wanted to thank you for helping me last week and I meant to come here much sooner but I’ve been really bogged down with helping students and my own homework what with finals coming up and all. N-not that I don’t love learning or tutoring but then when almost a week had passed my nerves got the best of me and suddenly I didn’t want to come here empty handed and so I—“

RJ placed a hand on her shoulder. “Breathe, Fran,” he told her gently, a concerned look in his eye. “You’re getting yourself all worked up.”

She took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. Her shoulders relaxed and a calm came over her. She became aware that RJ was still touching her shoulder, the look in his eyes now kind. “Feel better?”

Fran nodded, a shy smile on her face. “My grandma used to tell me that homemade baked goods were a strong foundation for a friendship.”

Reopening the box and taking out a cannoli, RJ took a large bite, eating nearly half of the pastry. He groaned as the sweet flavor of the chocolate mixed with the tangy bite of mascarpone blended with ricotta. Not the traditional recipe for cannoli, but it was how Fran learned it. She blushed as she heard his reaction, biting her lip to hide a giggle as she looked at him. “I take it you like it?”

“Definitely.” RJ forced himself to close the box as he gestured for Fran to follow him. He led her up to the bar, closest to the kitchen. He waved toward an empty stool. “You sit here so we can talk while I work.”

He headed over to the other side of the bar, paused when he realized something and spun in place to face her again. “Unless you need to get going? This is a weekday after all and it’s still early in the afternoon.”

“Nope!” Fran replied with a grin as she took a seat. “I don’t have class until six o’clock tonight.”

“Great!” RJ enthused as he opened his gift box once more and took out another cannoli. He then held out the box toward her, silently indicating that he wanted her to take one. After a minute’s hesitation, Fran did so, watching RJ curiously as he continued on his planned trek to the other side of the bar. He held his cannoli up to her in a toast.

“Here’s to the start of a beautiful friendship.”

Fran beamed and gently knocked her pastry against RJ’s. “Cheers!”


	2. The Little Things

RJ frowned in concern as he eyed Fran from his spot behind the counter. She wasn’t in her usual seat, the second stool from the end of the counter; rather she was sitting at a booth, books and papers strewn about the table and cushioned bench, her fingers frantically flying across the keyboard of her laptop that she had propped on the table in front of her. Occasionally she would pause to scribble something down in one of at least five notebooks, pop the pen she was using into her mouth to hold onto it as she went back to typing. Her hair was falling loose from her ponytail into her face and her glasses were dangerously close to falling off her nose, but she had yet to straighten them.

Fran had entered Jungle Karma around eleven thirty in the morning and it was now nearing three thirty. She had ordered two slices of the RJ Special pizza and a large coke around noon. She had yet to touch either, so fiercely devoted to her studies.

However RJ could see the exhaustion in the set of her shoulders and in the weariness of her deep, amber eyes. Eyes that he could have sworn were beginning to fill with tears.

That was it. RJ was intervening.

He made his way over to her booth and slid into the seat opposite of hers. “You should eat something, Fran,” he said in a gently chiding voice. He reached over and plucked the pen from her mouth, the action startling his friend into focusing on him. “And I don’t mean ink.”

Fran blushed, but didn’t say anything. Her fingers flexed, as if aching to get back to work. RJ eyed the laptop like it was the enemy. “Does that thing automatically save your work?” He asked in a carefully neutral voice.

Fran eyed him warily. “Yes…”

“Did it just save now?”

Glancing at the screen, Fran gave a slow nod only to cry out in protest when RJ slammed the lid down. “Wha—RJ!”

RJ pointed a finger at her, looking at her sternly. “You are taking a break, young lady. You’ve been here for nearly four hours and you haven’t stopped. For anything.”

Reaching over, he picked up her soda and plopped it down onto one of the few empty spots of the table. “Drink that,” he all but ordered her. “You need to hydrate.”

Fran stared at the soda for a minute before moving the glass towards herself and started drinking it. She eyed RJ from beneath her lashes, annoyance still etched on her face. When she let go of the straw to get air, she couldn’t help but snark, “Happy now, dear?”

RJ was hardly fazed by her attitude. “Not until you eat something,” he retorted, nodding toward the pizza. “It’s gonna be ice cold though.”

That coaxed a smirk onto Fran’s face. “Ice cold pizza is the breakfast of champions for college students, I’ll have you know.”

“Then get to eating champ.”

As Fran took a few bites of one slice, RJ picked up the plate that held the other slice. “I’ll heat this one for you.” As he slid out of the booth, RJ made the bold decision to snatch up her notebooks.

“What’re you doing?!” Fran demanded.

“Ensuring that you take a break,” RJ replied blithely. “And I don’t mean just for lunch. I mean a mental break.” He peered at her closely, suddenly taking note of dark circles under her eyes. He had half a mind to throw her over his shoulder and toss her onto his hammock, insisting that she get some rest. However he didn’t think such a move would go over well with her, at least that it wouldn’t end in his murder, so he decided to just focus on confirming that she had something to eat and _was_ eating it as well as staying hydrated and as sane as possible.

He waved the notebooks in his hand. “Don’t worry,” he told her. “I won’t let any harm come to these. But you’re not getting them back until you’ve finished your food.”

Quelling the scowl that threatened to form on her lips, Fran instead slouched against the back of the booth with an exasperated sigh. “Fine.”

Smiling innocently, RJ left her and headed over to his cash register. Opening the drawer, RJ lifted the cash box and slid Fran’s notebooks underneath. He plopped the box back down and slid the drawer shut. Whistling, he then made his way into the kitchen and slid her slice of pizza into the oven for a moment while going over the orders of other customers.

Popping out of the kitchen less than five minutes later, RJ cheerily sailed his way over to Fran with a heated slice of pizza along with a freshly made one because dang it, he was going to make sure his friend took care of herself. Sliding into the booth, RJ grinned at the surprised look on Fran’s face when she was greeted with two slices of pizza instead of just one.

She opened her mouth, looking like she was going to argue with him, but instead, Fran shrugged her shoulders and took a healthy bite out of the pizza. RJ’s grin grew, satisfied that she was eating and that he didn’t see any sign of the cold slice he had left her with.

After taking a long sip of her soda Fran thanked him before looking at him curiously. “RJ, are you sure that it’s a good idea for you to be sitting with me?”

“Yeah why not?” RJ asked. “We’re friends, aren’t we?”

She looked at him with mock annoyance. “We mostly hang out while you’re on the clock. Are you sure that’s a good idea? Shouldn’t you be looking after your customers?”

“No worries,” RJ assured her. “I am.” He twisted his torso and checked out the scene behind him. Seeing that nobody had any need for his attention, RJ turned back to Fran and winked. “We’re all good.” Boldly, he pulled off a mushroom from one of her slices and popped it into his mouth. “We should totally hang out when I’m not working though.” He frowned in thought. “ _Your_ schedule however…”

Fran picked up the slice that RJ had stolen the mushroom off of, holding it almost protectively which elicited a chuckle from him, said. “I’m almost done with school, including the TA bit but I’ll be working days at a library not far from here. I get off at three-thirty every afternoon except for Thursdays when I get out at seven so we can hang out most nights maybe?”

RJ was curious at the odd hours and tried his best to stamp out the sense of disappointment that he might not see her as often over the summer. “Why do you have to stay an extra three and a half hours on Thursdays?”

She held up two fingers and ticked off her reasons. “There’s an afterschool program that runs on Thursdays that I help out with and the library is open longer on that day.” She shrugged. “Not sure why it’s not Friday though.”

RJ hummed as he thought over her answer. “Interesting. I close down at seven and usually have this place completely cleaned up by seven-thirty. Is that too late to start hanging out?”

Fran snorted. “Absolutely not. My night life is very uneventful. Just me making dinner, reading books with the occasional trip to Briarwood.”

He arched a brow at that last bit. “Briarwood?”

“I have family there,” Fran replied with a fond smile. “My cousin Chip lives there so sometimes I go over for impromptu game nights which can range from video game tournaments to intense games of DND.”

That interested RJ. “Dungeons and Dragons?”

“Yup! And sometimes if Chip’s girlfriend Vida succeeds in getting us to go with her, we go to a concert.”

“We?”

“Vida’s sister Madison and all of their friends,” Fran explained. After a second’s pause she added with a slight blush. “Though I suppose they’re my friends too.”

“Sounds fun,” RJ said. He then looked at her with a mock scolding expression on his face. “And you said your nightlife was uneventful.”

“Only here in Ocean Bluff.”

“Well, now you’ve got me for a friend,” RJ pointed out. “Maybe I can help you make life in Ocean Bluff a little more exciting.”

Fran grinned around her straw. “Okay.”

He matched her smile. “Okay.” After a minute, he then asked. “So when can I start learning sign language from you?”

Fran had surprised RJ with her knowledge of the language three days earlier when a kid of about twelve years old came in and tried ordering pizza in sign language, a piece of paper defiantly gripped in his hand. Unfortunately, RJ wasn’t very versed in ASL and struggled to understand the poor kid. Before the kid had to rely on paper and pencil instead, Fran stepped in. She knelt beside the boy, tapping him on the shoulder, signing fluently that she would translate for him, earning a big relieved smile.

After the boy had left with his food, Fran explained that she had learned the language as a child from a hard of hearing colleague of her mother’s. She had kept up the skill as she got older, needing to use it on occasion when it came to a deaf classmate of hers and later a few deaf/hard of hearing students she would tutor in college. RJ had immediately asked her for a lesson and Fran had promised to set something up soon.

Having been reminded of her promise, Fran put down her pizza and turned to rummage in her messenger bag. She pulled out a beginner’s book on sign language and passed it to RJ. “I’m free tomorrow night if you want to start then.”

RJ grinned as he took the book and briefly perused it. “Sounds like a plan to me. Thank you for this.” He nodded toward the kitchen, a somewhat rueful smile on his face. “I’d better get back in there.”

“Okay.” She grinned. “Have fun.”

“I always do.”

* * *

The thing about the Jungle Karma ovens was that they weren’t exactly state of the art. As a matter of fact, they were in serious need of repair, if not an altogether upgrade. Unfortunately, RJ didn’t exactly have the money needed for an adequate handyman let alone the technical skill necessary to tackle the job himself.

He also didn’t have total awareness whenever it came to losing himself in his self-proclaimed “pizza-making groove”. It wasn’t until he caught the sharp, acrid smell of smoke did he realize that an order was burning terribly. With a swear under his breath, RJ darted toward his oven and was bowled over by flames rushing to greet him, nearly caressing his face with their merciless heat, smoke billowing out in black fumes behind the fire.

RJ was completely unaware of how long he had laid on his kitchen floor, staring in shock as he watched the flames start to consume his kitchen, distantly hearing the alarm system go off. Wasn’t there supposed to be a sprinkler system? Ah, right. The damn things were rusted over.

He _really_ should be getting up.

He jolted in surprise when the unmistakable hissing noise of a fire extinguisher cut through the sound of the alarms. Right. He had one of those but he clearly wasn’t the one attempting to put the fire out. Had someone called the fire department?

Moving slowly into a sitting position, RJ tilted his head and saw that it wasn’t a firefighter putting out the fire but…

“Fran?!” He spluttered, coughing as the smoke began to burn his throat. “What are you doing here? Are you nuts?!” He fought to get to his feet. “It’s way too dangerous for you to be in here!”

Fran continued to spray the fire extinguisher into the oven, doing her best to smother the flames as she calmly replied. “Everyone else was evacuating RJ, and when I didn’t see you with the crowd, I got worried and decided to see what I could do to help!”

“And that’s wonderful of you, thank you, but we have to get out of here!” No longer concerned with his own well-being but consumed with worry for hers, RJ reached for Fran, determined to drag her out of the kitchen if need be.

“I’ve almost got it!” Fran shifted as if sensing that RJ was trying to stop her from finishing her task. She did her best to stop the wave of coughing that threatened to choke her, tightly gripping the fire extinguisher as she fought to take in clean air.

As she coughed, she didn’t see the sparks that were headed right for them, coming from a power box that was starting to catch fire. RJ did see them and grabbed Fran around the middle, throwing her over shoulder, pointedly ignoring her yelp of protest as he ran them out of the kitchen, just as the fire department burst onto the scene.

“See?” RJ asked in a rough voice as he continued to run. “The fire department’s here! We can go now.”

Fran said nothing; too busy focusing on not falling off of RJ’s shoulder while not letting the blood rush to her head due to her current position.

She was also decidedly _not_ looking at RJ’s butt, thank you very much.

When the pair reached a safe distance away from Jungle Karma, RJ placed Fran back on her feet, keeping his hands on her shoulders as they caught their breath. Once he saw that she was settled, he pulled her into a tight hug.

“That was awesome,” RJ told her quietly, sincerely. “But please don’t put yourself in danger like that again.”

Fran hugged him back briefly before pulling back to look him in the eye. “I’m sorry RJ, but I can’t make such a promise. If I can do something to help someone, I’m going to do it. Even if it’s dangerous.”

RJ looked like he dearly wanted to argue with her. But he also knew that if he were in her shoes, he would be saying the same thing. Sighing, he rested his head on top of hers. “I don’t like it, but I completely understand.”

A throat being cleared interrupted their moment and the two broke apart, turning to see a tall, dark blonde man in his early thirties clad in a firefighter’s uniform. The word “captain” was emblazoned across the right side of his jacket. “I heard from several witnesses that you’re the owner, RJ. Is that correct?”

RJ nodded, moving to shake the captain’s hand. “That would in fact be me, sir.”

“I’m Captain Grayson,” the man introduced himself. “You’re very lucky that your friend managed to contain much of the damage in your kitchen when she did.”

“You don’t need to tell me twice,” RJ replied, shooting Fran a grateful look. She blushed and slid her gaze to her shoes. Looking back at Captain Grayson, RJ asked him, “So how bad is the damage?”

“We managed to contain the rest of it, just before that power box could blow. Good job on getting your friend out of there just in case and to reduce any further smoke damage to yourselves.” Looking slightly regretful, Captain Grayson added, “There’s significant damage to the ovens in particular and your stove range did take a beating as well but luckily it didn’t spread to the dining area.”

“That’s a plus,” RJ replied, determined to look on the bright side. He then remembered something else. “Wait, I live above the restaurant. Do you think it’s safe for me to sleep there tonight?”

“You can stay with me if it’s not,” Fran offered. RJ smiled his thanks and gently squeezed her hand.

“I’ll have my team look into it,” Captain Grayson assured RJ. “As long as the air is clear in there you should be just fine as it doesn’t look like the fire has threatened the building’s structural soundness.” He turned toward a pair of ambulances in the distance and gestured toward it. “I highly suggest you two get yourselves checked out. And I’m married to one of the doctors on EMT duty so I’ll know if you didn’t go over there.”

Laughing, the pair thanked the captain and made their way over to the ambulances. As they walked over, Fran froze with a gasp, her eyes going wide in alarm.

“What is it?” RJ demanded as he looked her over, not seeing anything outwardly that would be a cause for concern.

“My notebooks!” She cried. “I gave them to you, remember?” She pouted and then muttered. “Though I wouldn’t entirely categorize it as ‘willingly’.”

RJ chuckled as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Hakuna Matata, my dear Fran. I put them in my cash register which is a safe distance from the kitchen. They will be returned to you in perfect condition as soon as we’re in the clear to go back into the restaurant.”  
  


She sank into his embrace with relief. “Thank you,” she breathed. She lightly nudged him with a small smile. “I like the Lion King reference by the way.”

“It’s underutilized if you think about it, what with everyone saying ‘no worries’.”

“I think it’s clever,” Fran told him.

“You know, I think I can actually make this disaster work out,” RJ mused as they continued their trek over to the ambulances.

“Oh?” She looked at him curiously. “How?”

“A new pizza. The smoked and crispy combo.” He held out his free hand in a gesture of showmanship. “Thin crust that’s well done with smoky mozzarella pieces on top of a regular cheese pizza. What do you think?”

Fran giggled slightly at her friend’s eagerness. “That actually sounds really good.”

“It does,” RJ affirmed. He then made a face. “What doesn’t sound good is the phone call I have to make to my insurance company later.”

Fran laughed harder at that, the motion making her cough once more which in turn immediately brought her under the examination of a blonde EMT who firmly informed RJ that he was not to go anywhere for her was next.

The slight squeak that he emitted sadly did Fran’s bout of laughter and coughing no favors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I headcanon Fran and Chip from Mystic Force as cousins. Don't ask why, just thought it was cute. Since Dana from Lightspeed Rescue has a guest role in Because We Love You, I decided to throw in Carter here. I have no idea if I did a good job writing him as a character or a firefighter. XD I have no idea why the kitchen caught fire when Fran references it in "Friends Don't Fade Away" so I was just guessing. :P But the "Smoked and Crispy Combo" is born!!


	3. Rolling Clouds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A storm is brewing over Ocean Bluff and RJ gets the brilliant idea of having a sleepover that night. And there's something about mascots?

RJ muttered darkly to himself as he scrubbed away at a stubborn stain on his counter top for what felt like the fifth time that morning, putting as much elbow grease into it as he could muster. For whatever reason that only the spirits knew about, the damned patch of gunk just wasn't coming out. He'd tried everything from aerosol sprays to vinegar and baking soda and now he was just using good old fashioned effort to try and get rid of the offending spot. RJ's first ever health inspection was in two days and the young businessman was determined to make every _inch_ of the restaurant sparkle and shine. He wasn't about to let the inspector find a single health code violation.

He'd dealt with years of scrutiny after all; practically his entire life. What was one more day? At least his kitchen had been rebuilt in due time since the fire.

RJ jumped when a box was plopped onto the counter top, filling his line of sight. He looked up, seeing Fran wear a sheepish grin. "Sorry," she apologized. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"All good," RJ assured her as he straightened. He grinned as he realized just what the plain white box was. "Oooh, more treats?"

Fran hadn't actually baked anything in recent memory due to aiding students with finals week as well as attending her own exams but RJ had been hard-pressed to ensure those cannoli she had given him when she had first stepped into JKP had lasted. He had actually been successful too.

For three whole days.

Fran shrugged one shoulder as she absently toyed with box's lid. She blushed and refused to meet her friend's gaze as she explained. "You've seemed rather stressed over the past couple of days and I figured I could try cheering you up by baking something new."

It was RJ's turn to look sheepish. "You noticed, huh?"

She peeked up at him through her bangs. "You weren't yourself. Not really. You've been sighing heavily and you tend to run your hand through your hair a lot." Her eyes widened as a heat flooded through her skin once more. "N-not that I've been staring o-or anything, but…!"

"Breathe Fran," RJ told her gently. "You're right," he added as Fran took a breath. "I have been stressing. I have a health inspection coming up in a couple of days. It's my first one and I'm pretty nervous."

"RJ you take great care of this place," Fran said. "I have no doubt that you're gonna do awesome."

He beamed at that. "Thanks, Fran. You always know how to cheer me up."

She tried waving away his praise. "Oh as if you don't do the same for me."

RJ pointed a finger at her, his expression and voice mock stern. "You, young lady, need to learn how to take a compliment."

She laughed awkwardly while nodding. "Yeah, yeah I do." She then gestured to the box. "Are you going to open it?"

"Right now," RJ affirmed as he did just that. He gasped happily when he saw what was in the box. "Tiramisu? Why Miss Fran, you're getting quite fancy."

Fran stuck her tongue out at him. "Hardly," she retorted. "It's a family comfort food, actually."

RJ was touched at that. "Really? And you're giving me some?"

"Do you not see the box in front of you?"

"I just mean that it's a family recipe that you're using for me!"

"The cannoli were from my family's recipe too, RJ," Fran pointed out. "You're my friend and I care about you. Why wouldn't I help you through some of the most comforting food I know? I mean, I know you've mentioned pizza being a comfort food and while I do know how to make it, I always thought it would be weird to make pizza for you, of all people."

RJ snorted at that. "Fran, I would be highly honored to eat pizza made by you."

"Noted," Fran giggled.

RJ disappeared into the kitchen for a moment, before returning with a knife, a pair of forks and two paper plates. He sliced them a sizeable square of the Italian dessert each and plated them, sliding one to Fran. She smiled her thanks but didn't spear her fork into the tiramisu, waiting for RJ to try his first, both eager and nervous to know what he thought of her handiwork.

"It's so fluffy!" He said with admiration as he looked at the piece balanced on his fork. He popped the bite into his mouth and had to hold back a groan. "This is delicious!" He looked at Fran with slight mischief in his eyes as he asked. "Can I hire you to be my dessert chef? I can bake just fine, but honestly, your stuff tastes like, a hundred times better."

Biting back a scoff, Fran looked thoughtful before replying, "I would love to, but honestly since I'm using my family's recipes, I would have to ask. As something meant for friends is one thing, but for profit is a whole other story."

"That's fair," RJ replied with a nod.

The pair of friends continued to consume their treat in silence, just listening to the music on the restaurant's sound system when the latest song was interrupted by a news broadcast.

"This just in Ocean Bluff," the radio DJ announced, his normally cheerful voice taking on a informative tone reminiscent of a television news anchor. "A large storm system is headed to the city and should start pouring by tomorrow morning. We can expect as much as up to a foot of rain, strong winds up to seventy miles per hour and a wind chill factor of forty degrees. This storm system is expected to last twenty-four to thirty-six hours before heading up to Briarwood."

"Well that sounds like a party," RJ said.

"Yeah," Fran replied slowly. "A party…" A look of concern crossed her face.

"Everything okay?"

"It's just the high winds making me nervous," Fran explained. "My apartment building's pretty old and the windows tend to rattle in their frames in wind stronger than a breeze. I'm always nervous that the windows are going to shatter, especially the one above my bed."

RJ shared her concern. "Yeah that does sound pretty nerve-wracking."

She sighed. "And if the storm is heading up to Briarwood anyway, I don't think I can bunk with Chip. Guess I better look into storm shelters."

RJ is thoughtfully quiet for a moment before suggesting another option to Fran other than being stuck in her apartment with rickety windows or staying in a storm shelter. "You could stay with me," he offered with a small grin that grew wider as the idea gained more appeal. "Sleepover at JKP!"

Fran looked at him with slight disbelief. "You're…you're serious."

"Quite serious. I've got a futon you can use. Just need to dig it out."

"RJ, we've been friends for what? Three weeks? Maybe a month? We barely know each other! What if one of us snores?"

"I'm ninety-five to ninety-eight percent sure I don't snore," RJ told her.

"Why not a hundred percent?"

"That you can either classify as a margin for error or modesty, take your pick. Besides," he went on. "We can use the sleepover to get to know one other better and you can rest easy not having to worry about glass shattering over your head. Actually, I'd rest easy knowing that too."

Fran didn't say anything right away, grappling with her options. Finally she gave a shy smile. "Okay, a sleepover does sound pretty fun."

"Awesome!" RJ cheered. He offered his hand for a high five and with a laugh; Fran clapped her own hand against his. "Wanna come over tomorrow after your shift at the library?"

"That sounds like a plan," she agreed. "Do you think you should shore up the windows here at JKP because they're on the ground floor and for all we know, flooding could be a possibility?"

"Probably a wise move. You know, part of me can't believe we're getting such weather, it's not even hurricane season!"

"Tell me about it! It's not even my _birthday_ and already we're getting crappy weather!"

RJ looked at Fran, confused. "Do you usually get rained out on your birthday?"

"No, but my birthday is June 17th and that's closer to hurricane season than today is."

"True," RJ conceded then smirked. "I will be keeping that date in mind, by the way."

"And when's _your_ birthday?"

"Not til November," he hedged. Fran rolled her eyes at the lack of a real response, already knowing that her friend was two years older than her but deciding not to say anything.

She glanced at her watch and said, "I guess I better get going, I have a shift today actually. It's short but I still need to be on time."

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Four o'clock sharp and ready to help batten down the hatches!"

RJ came around the counter and pulled her into a hug that Fran eagerly returned. "See you then."

"See you." With some reluctance, Fran pulled away from him and walked toward the exit, waving as she moved.

As soon as Fran exited, RJ went back to his spot behind the counter, eyeing the stubborn stain with distaste. It took him less than sixty seconds to decide that he would deal with it later, preferring to sink his fork into the tiramisu still sitting in the box, part of him wondering how long this concoction would last and part of him hoping that Fran would bring something to the sleepover.

Now to find that futon…

He startled when a customer called his name, needing his attention. With a blush suffusing his face and an awkward smile, RJ headed over to the customer's table.

…As soon as the restaurant was actually _closed_ , that is.

* * *

True to her word, Fran arrived the next afternoon at four o'clock sharp. The sky was already filled with dark grey clouds, swollen with rain that waited to burst from their misty confines. The wind was beginning to pick up, tossing Fran's hair about as she walked into the restaurant, fighting slightly to get the door shut.

She walked with some hesitation at the thought of being in a restaurant—even if it was empty, RJ having closed early due to the impending storm— with a duffel bag slung over her shoulder, a sleeping bag tucked under her arm and an insulated bag in her hand, but RJ had assuaged her nerves with a welcoming smile and ushered her up the stairs into his spacious loft. Fran did her best not to gape as she took in the never before seen area.

"This is so cool!" She breathed. She saw a fooseball table and an air hockey table not too far from a basketball hoop. A comfortable looking forest green recliner sat in front of an eclectic bank of televisions. A hammock was strung up on the second level with a king-sized bed nearby, a zebra print blanket with its corners tucked in dutifully. There were several shelves that held a mess of parts, tools and other projects along with a scattering of comic books that seemed to be organized within its chaos.

All in all, it was absolutely certain to Fran that this was _RJ's_ living space.

She jumped slightly when RJ gently tugged the bag out of her hand. "What'd you bring?" He studied the bag curiously as he hefted it. "This actually feels heavy."

Fran grinned. "I baked chocolate chip cookies because they're delicious and a classic. That led me to thinking about ice cream which is a sleepover classic and we could make chipwiches! Or sundaes, I did buy some ice cream sauces and whipped cream."

"Did you pack sprinkles?" RJ intoned gravely despite the delight she could see in his eyes.

"Obviously."

A grin. "Obviously."

Fran then added, "I also made muffins for breakfast just in case the power happens to go out. I hope you like banana chocolate chip."

"I'm offended you'd even consider that I wouldn't like that." RJ snickered when Fran rolled her eyes. "This place is equipped with a generator but I appreciate your thoughtfulness all the same."

He gestured to a space Fran could see beyond the basketball hoop that was set up as a small personal kitchen. "I'm gonna go put the ice cream in the freezer and then we can set up your futon."

"Okay."

Within minutes, RJ and Fran were opening up a twin sized futon placed a few feet from the recliner and television set up. As Fran began organizing the violet sheets RJ had loaned her, the man himself surprised her by setting up a second futon across from hers. When she looked at him curiously, he said. "I forgot I had bought two of these. Pretty sure there was a sale at some point. Figured if we ended up talking all night, it would be easier if we were closer than me being up where my bed is."

"That makes sense," Fran agreed. "Though I've never stayed up all night talking with someone."

"Not even Chip?"

She had to think about that for a moment. "The latest we stayed up was until about…three in the morning?" She laughed sheepishly. "We got caught up in an online Dungeons and Dragons campaign."

"That's practically all night," RJ pointed out.

"Yeah, I guess it is," Fran agreed. "I always figured 'up all night' meant seeing the sun rise the next day."

RJ flopped out onto his futon as he stretched the sheet over the mattress. "Well, if this storm isn't too terrible, we might be able to do that. Otherwise we'll be watching the sky go from pitch black to grey."

Fran tossed her pillows onto her futon and placed her royal blue sleeping bag on top of it, planning to open it completely and use it as a blanket later on. "Fair point." She then surprised RJ by pulling out a small, well-loved wolf plush that she gently sat on top of the pillows.

"Is that a wolf?" He asked and Fran was relieved to hear delight in his voice rather than teasing.

"Yep. My mom and I visited the wolf conservation center over in Angel Grove when I was little. He was practically one of my best friends and I sometimes take him with me when I sleep in an unfamiliar place. Not that this place is all that unfamiliar but…you know…"

"It is and it isn't," RJ said with a nod. "Does he have a name?"

He immediately regretted his question when he saw the mirth in her eyes, the smirk that played about her lips when she replied in a completely serious tone, "Bobby."

Fran laughed when RJ physically recoiled at the name. She was well aware that his name was actually Robert James and that he absolutely loathed the nickname Bobby. While she never really teased him about it, his reaction always managed to make her giggle. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding," she assured him. "His name is JJ."

RJ arched a brow at that. "Seriously?"

"Mhm." Fran blushed and played with the plush's fur, seemingly hesitant in explaining further but after a minute of dawdling, she did. "This is going to sound completely silly, but remember I was like, _eight_ when I got him. We were in Angel Grove and I thought that Jason, the red Mighty Morphin' Power Ranger was one of the coolest guys around.

"I didn't have a crush on him but I did used to wish that he would be my big brother. So I figured when not name this little guy after him? Chip's actually the one who shortened it to JJ. I think he actually has a blue triceratops plush which of course is named Billy."

"Nice! What a cool part of your childhood." RJ then looked at her slightly teasing. "You do know that you should have a tyrannosaurus for JJ, right? Not a wolf."

Fran huffed at that. "We were at a _wolf_ conservation center, not a history museum."

A crack of thunder and the sound of pouring rain diverted the pair's attention back to the whole reason for the sleepover. The storm system that was now bearing down on Ocean Bluff.

"Guess we better batten down those hatches, huh?" Fran asked with a wink.

RJ chuckled. "Guess so."

* * *

The two spent the better part of an hour boarding up the windows, RJ slightly grateful for the restaurant's awnings that did a fairly good job of protecting him from the rain as he boards up the windows from the outside, Fran reinforcing those windows from the inside. Yet once the wind began to pick up, RJ found his back beginning to get soaked and began to work faster. He was hurrying toward the door that Fran had partially held out for him when she frowned, her expression of intense concentration.

"What's wrong?"

"Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

She shushed him, listening intently. Closing his mouth, RJ listened as well, silently for a full minute before he finally heard what sounded like the tiny cries of a kitten.

Clearly Fran had heard the sounds too for she shot past him into the storm, racing around the corner and disappearing from sight.

"Hey! Fran! Wait up!"

RJ caught up to her within seconds, seeing her staring at what wasn't one kitten but two. They looked old enough to have maybe been a year old for their eyes were open and their fur looked thick. One cat had white fur with heterochromia, one eye yellow while the other was blue. The second cat was grey with a pair of sky blue eyes. They were both soaked and terrified out of their little minds.

The loud crack of thunder did nothing to help the situation but thankfully they hadn't fled.

Fran whipped to face RJ, her eyes wide and pleading. RJ smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her. "You don't need to give me those puppy dog eyes Fran, of course we're going to help them. I'm not sure if I have any cans of tuna but I definitely have chicken I can spare for them."

He felt her sink in relief before hugging him tightly in thanks. Pulling away she then faced the kittens again, gingerly making her way over to them. They meowed, but instead of shrinking away from her, sniffed her outstretched hands for a second before butting their little heads against her palms. With a giggle, Fran picked up the white one while RJ proffered his hand to the grey one who deemed him suitable after a few seconds.

The pair made their way back into JKP, Fran cooing to the cat she held the entire time. Despite being dripping wet, RJ stroked the kitten in his hands, unable to get over just how blue the cat's eyes were.

"Are you going to keep them?"

Both friends had asked the question and laughed at the realization. "I don't know if we should separate them," RJ admitted thoughtfully. "For all we know they came from the same litter."

"My apartment building does allow cats," Fran said. "But I'm not sure how many per unit."

"I could probably keep them upstairs so long as I ensure that they stay up there because that's _definitely_ a health code violation."

"Aww, so they can't be your new mascots?" Fran teased and RJ snorted.

"They don't necessarily fit with the _jungle_ theme of Jungle Karma Pizza."

"Of course they do! They're just domesticated, that's all."

"There are cat cafés but I don't think there're any cat pizzerias and I'm not a hundred percent I want to be the first."

"That's fair. We can figure out their home situation later. Let's just get them dried off for now."

"Us too."

"I am kinda cold," Fran said before looking thoughtfully at her kitten whom was beginning to wriggle in her arms, wanting to get down and explore. "Names?"

"Smoky for mine," RJ said. "I feel like it's a given. What about yours?"

"Gouda," Fran replied with certainty. "The fur's not yellow, but I like it anyway."

"Me too," RJ agreed. "Okay, game plan. We get these two upstairs, dried off and fed. Then we get ourselves dried off and you can have the high honor of making the pizza for dinner tonight."

She burst out laughing at that. "It shall be my pleasure, good sir."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yaaay! Sleepover at JKP! Technically in the loft but fun times shall still be had! And now RJ has a pair of "mascots"! Or Fran has new pets, I haven't decided who will be keeping the kittens but for all intents and purposes, Smoky will be RJ's and Gouda will be Fran's. The latter is named as such for the sake of puns. :3
> 
> Fran's rickety window situation is reflective of the apartment building I used to live in. The windows would slam in high winds. One year during a blizzard, a significant part of our living room window shattered and the glass blew inside, forcing us to sleep in a hotel for a little while because it was too damn cold even with the heat on!
> 
> Hope you guys like and please review!


	4. A Spark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sleepover shenanigans at JKP! A friendship is strengthened and maybe someone is catching feelings...?

Calculated Risk

Disclaimer: No Power Rangers, just memories of meeting a few of the actors at a convention. Sigh.

Chapter 4: A Spark

* * *

“So what kinda pizza are you making?” RJ asked Fran as he knelt by the kitchen counter where Smoky and Gouda were eating some chicken RJ had shredded for them.

Fran frowned thoughtfully as she worked the ball of pre-made dough RJ had given her. “I can’t make up my mind between margarita and Texas barbecue.”

“Both do sound good,” RJ admitted. He stood and reached into his pocket, rummaging around for a few seconds before pulling out a quarter. “Coin toss?”

Fran grinned. “You do that?”

“It helps when I can’t make up my mind for lots of things. That and ‘eenie, meenie, miney, mo.”

“Ah,” Fran nodded sagely. “A classic decision making technique.”

“Exactamundo.” RJ waved the coin. “So which is heads and which is tails?”

“Heads: margarita, tails: Texas barbecue.”

The coin was flipped and soon RJ was arranging the ingredients for a margarita pizza beside the dough Fran was carefully shaping into a crust.

“Want me to show you how to toss it?”

The flattening disk was tossed by way of Fran’s answer, carefully bounced and spun on her knuckles as she gently stretched the dough. RJ laughed, impressed. “Never mind, then!”

Fran giggled and tossed the crust higher than before only to squeak when she nearly missed, catching half the dough. RJ quickly stuck his hands out to catch the errant dough and helped Fran guide it back onto the pan.

“You have no idea how often I’ve dropped the dough,” RJ said while reassuringly patting a blushing Fran on the shoulder. “That was really good though.”

“My grandpa taught me,” Fran replied, smiling at the memory. As she reached for the tomato sauce, she glanced at RJ and asked. “Is it weird that I kinda wanna try tossing it behind my back and catching it?”

“Uh, no,” He scoffed. “You’re speaking my language. That sounds like something I would totally do.”

“Maybe that’s where I got the idea from,” Fran mused. “Just hanging out with you makes me want to push myself and be more creative.”

This time it was RJ whose face heated. “Glad I could be a bit of a source of inspiration.”

As Fran sprinkled a healthy amount of mozzarella onto the pizza, RJ glanced down and saw that the kittens had moved on from their spot on the floor where they had been eating. Only as he scanned the lower level of the loft, he wasn’t able to see them.

“Fran…”

“Yes?”

“Any idea where our new furry friends went?”

Fran frowned as she looked up from her work. “No…” she stepped over to where RJ was looking for Smoky and Gouda. She tried to stifle the flare of panic she felt at the thought that the kittens had gotten themselves into trouble.

“The good news,” RJ began. “Is that this place is locked and there’s no small openings that would put them back out into the storm.” He winced and continued. “Bad news is that this place still has lots of small spaces for them to crawl around in.”

“I’ll look downstairs while you look upstairs?”

“Good idea.”

Fran traipsed down the stairs and began to carefully search for the small kittens, her worry growing when she realized that there was more to RJ’s loft than she had seen upon her first glance of the place. She passed by a soccer goal and a small round shelf full of knickknacks but no cute, mischievous kittens, sleeping or otherwise. She glanced at the foosball table and the platform that held up the basketball hoop but no dice.

Upon her third round of looping through what could be construed as RJ’s living room more or less, Fran took note of at least three large speakers and figured that movie nights here were probably quite the event. Maybe RJ would be open to having one at some point in the future.

By sheer happenstance, Fran looked up and to her shock found Smoky carefully balanced on top of the speaker, fast asleep. “You have got to be kidding me,” she murmured, shaking her head as she stared at the grey ball of fur in awe. In a slightly louder voice she called out, “RJ?”

“Yeah?”

“I found Smoky!”

“Awesome!” RJ called back as he quickly made his way down the stairs and over to Fran. “And bonus, I found Gouda sleeping on my bed. Now where’s Smoky?”

Fran pointed to where the cat was napping and RJ snorted as he shook his head. He went back over to the stairs and walked along the length of the upper floor until he reached the spot where both the speaker and kitten were level with him. He gently scratched Smoky behind the ears, causing her to pop up wide awake and alert.

To Fran’s amazement, the cat didn’t startle and fall; merely she yawned and butted her head against RJ’s hand. She did chirp however when RJ scooped her up, tucking her little form into a ball. RJ then walked over to his bed and carefully placed the cat next to Gouda whom was still snoozing away. Smoky kneaded at the zebra stripe patterned blanket before settling down next to her sister and falling back asleep.

“There we go,” RJ commented quietly as he returned to Fran’s side. “Harmony has been restored in the loft.”

“Yes it has,” Fran giggled in agreement. “Shall I finish making the pizza?”

A loud crack of thunder interrupted RJ’s response causing both friends to jump slightly. They winced when they saw the lights begin to flicker.

RJ wrapped a comforting arm around Fran as he guided her back toward the kitchen. “A great idea, but one that needs to be done with haste.” As Fran returned to her work on the pizza, slicing tomatoes and placing them above the shredded mozzarella, RJ all but sprinted toward the oven and setting it to pre-heat.

Thirty minutes later, Fran was watching RJ with slightly more wariness than she tended to look at him with as he picked up the slice of pizza she had handed to him. Her confidence in dessert was one thing; her confidence in her pizza making skills, something that his whole career revolved around was less so.

Clearly RJ picked up on her stress for just before he bit into the slice he held, he winked at her and sang, “This is gonna taste awesome, Fran.”

“Says you.”

“That’s kinda the whole point,” RJ chuckled before finally taking a bite. He chewed while Fran held her breath, waiting for his verdict. When he swallowed, RJ got a very mischievous gleam in his eye, stood and grabbed the remainder of the pizza, plopping it on his side of the table. “So clearly this is my portion,” he said while drawing an invisible circle around the pizza then nodded toward her plate. “Those two slices are yours.”

Though she was blushing heavily at what his words meant, Fran still giggled. “Gee thanks!”

“Well, I suppose in the name of friendship I can let you have just one more.”

“You’re too kind.”

RJ ate the remainder of his first slice before asking, “So what do I have to bribe you with to steal you from the library?”

Fran nearly cackled at that. “Nothing!” She stuck her tongue out at him. “No matter what you offer, I’m not leaving my job. I love it too much.”

RJ pouted, “So what I’m hearing is: you don’t love _me_?”

Much to her own surprise, Fran merely snorted. “You’re one of my favorite people in the world, RJ, but emotional manipulation like that, playful or otherwise is not going to sway my decision.”

He held up his hands in surrender. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have tried playing on our friendship.”

“No you should not have,” Fran ate part of her pizza before continuing. “As such, _you’ll_ have the ‘high honor’ of doing the dishes.”

“I was going to do them anyway.”

Fran smirked and shook her head at her friend’s antics, reaching over to steal a slice from him. She gently bopped him on the nose when he tried to protest and laughed when he became too stunned to say anything.

* * *

“Oi! Save some whipped cream for me!” RJ snatched the can from Fran whom was happily spraying a large amount of the dessert topping onto her neapolitan and caramel ripple ice cream. He gently hip checked her out of the way and began adding a generous amount of whipped cream to his own concoction of mint chocolate chip and peanut butter fudge.

“I _did_ buy two cans,” Fran said, reaching for the jar of warmed hot fudge. “No need to be so violent.”

“I would _never_ be violent with you,” RJ swore. After a few seconds pause, he added on, “Unless you count tickle attacks.” He glanced at her from the side. “Are you ticklish?”

“That is information I will be taking with me to the grave.”

RJ snorted at Fran’s answer and took the proffered jar of hot fudge, slathering it onto his dessert. After a healthy addition of sprinkles, he and Fran took their bowls to the pair of futons.

RJ paused before digging into his ice cream and frowned. “We should’ve broken the cookies over this.”

“Or used them as spoon replacements.”

“That’s risky but delicious,” RJ declared. “Let’s do it.”

“You can,” Fran replied before spooning some ice cream into her mouth, hot fudge getting onto the corner of her mouth and chin. “But I’m way too comfortable to move.”

“I’m on it.”

Within seconds the cookies were fetched and the tin was placed between the two futons. Laughter and snorts filled the air as they forwent use of their spoons for chocolate chip cookies, precariously balancing ice cream dripping with whipped cream, fudge sauce and sprinkles while gleefully warning one another that they were going to spill ice cream on their bed.

“You know Fran, you’re looking awfully saucy,” RJ teased her as he gestured toward the hot fudge she had on her chin and cheek in smears.

“Oh am I?” Without warning, Fran let out a war cry as she launched herself at RJ and smeared hot fudge on his nose.

“Hey!” With a laugh, he lobbed whipped cream at her in retaliation, the topping landing in her hair. “No food fights in the loft!” RJ wheezed as he wiped the hot fudge off of his nose.

“Okay,” Fran agreed as she carefully cleaned her hair of whipped cream.

When the sundaes were done, the pair in engaged in a heated round of “thumb wars” while talking about their childhoods. “I went to boarding school,” RJ admitted, nodding confirmation when Fran looked at him in surprise. “It’s this old, kinda prestigious place that was tradition for my family to go to. From my great-grandfather to me.”

“Did no girls in your family go?” Fran asked him while concentrating on pinning his thumb. “Was it an all-boys school?”

“My dad is an only child and as you know so am I, but I think my great-aunt went with my grandpa. I would ask my dad for clarification but he and I haven’t exactly seen eye to eye in years.”

“Let me guess,” Fran began in a dry tone. She scowled when RJ pinned her thumb but beamed in victory when he wasn’t able to keep her down before three seconds had passed. “You haven’t lived up to his expectations.”

“Exactamundo.”

“So what was this school like besides being old and prestigious?”

RJ sighed, his eyes taking on an unfocused look as if he were able to stare into the past. He had stopped playing the game, unconsciously taking hold of Fran’s hand. She let him, squeezing it in support. “Traditional,” he finally said. “Lessons were passed down to us from hundreds of years of experience. Different things that were meant to help shape and guide us as we grew into our own selves.”

Fran stared at him in awe. “ _Hundreds_ of years of experience?”

“Yep.”

She tilted her head, studying him. “I take it your dad was very fond of these traditions, huh?”

RJ chuckled quietly, squeezing her hand, glad that she let him hold it. “There was this path, both in academia and in life that he had taken, that my grandfather and great-grandfather had taken before him. He had _expected_ that I would take the path too but…”

“But you didn’t?” Fran asked him lightly.

“No,” RJ said quietly. “I didn’t.”

“Where was your mom in all of this if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Ah,” RJ raked a hand through his hair as he gathered his thoughts. “My parents divorced when I was about six. Took me about ten years to finally completely understand my mom’s perspective.” When Fran winced sympathetically at his words, he added. “It’s all good though, I talk with my mom from time to time. Even get to see her at least once a year.”

Fran hummed as she thought for a minute. “Well _I_ happen to think that it’s a good thing that you didn’t end up following your family’s footsteps.” At RJ’s arched brow she elaborated. “You just said that your dad was fond of the school’s traditions and prestige, the path that had been carved out for your family generations before his. If you took that same path, RJ, you wouldn’t be you. I think you’re your best self _because_ you didn’t take that path.”

A breathy laugh escaped RJ as he tugged Fran into a hug, laughing harder as she squeaked when he rocked back from taking on her weight until they were both laying on his futon. They laid there for a long moment, RJ feeling once again at peace despite having talked about his tumultuous relationship with his father.

He felt slightly surprised when he realized that he wasn’t embarrassed to be so close to Fran, that it actually felt really nice to have her in his arms. Almost as if…

Almost as if she fit there.

Alright, _that_ train of thought sent the blood rushing to his face as his heart began to beat a bit faster.

Fran broke the silence when she announced in a slightly muffled voice, “RJ, my glasses are being squished into my face.”

“Whoops!” RJ winced as he sat them up. “Sorry.”

Fran straightened her glasses and smiled at him reassuringly. “It’s fine.”

She scooted back onto her futon and picked up her empty bowl, heading toward the kitchen to place it into the sink. “Surely you have some happy memories from your time at the school.”

“I do,” RJ agreed as he took his own bowl to the sink. “I met one of my best friends there. His name is Dominic. He’s a reader like you, but _unlike_ you, very much a prankster. He’s the one who helped me discover the courage inside myself to accept that my path in life wasn’t lining up with the one that my family had taken before me.”

“Sounds like a cool guy,” Fran said. “Though I take it that you were the one who kept him from crossing the line or at least, from going too _far_ over the line. And if you couldn’t help him with that then at least you were there by his side.”

RJ beamed. “You know me so well.”

“I try.”

* * *

After the pair had taken turns using RJ’s bathroom to change and ready themselves for bed, they were back on their respective futons. “So why haven’t I met Dominic yet?” Fran asked as she snuggled under her sleeping bag.

“Ah, he’s been traveling around the world for the last five, six years or so.”

“Oh wow,” Fran said, impressed. “Doing what?”

“Finding himself,” RJ replied. “Apparently his life path wasn’t all that clear cut for him when he was a student.”

“I hope he finds himself,” Fran said sincerely as she hugged her wolf plushie, tucking the toy under her chin. “The world traveling bit reminds me of my childhood though.”

“Yes! It’s time for baby Fran stories!”

“They weren’t that grand,” Fran snorted. “I traveled with my mom from when I was about five until I was fourteen. She’s a photojournalist and we traveled to many countries, staying for no longer than two months as she worked on various assignments.”

“That sounds exciting. Where did you go?”

“Oh all over the place; Osaka, Japan, Athens, Greece, Oaxaca, Mexico, Nice, France…Niagara Falls…the Amazon, the Serengeti…”

“In Africa?”

“No, on the International space station,” she deadpanned and he had to fight back a snicker.

“My mom would photograph the people, the animals, food and nature, different displays of life and culture. How it was celebrated…how it was mourned.” Fran fell silent for a minute, out of respect for the more somber parts that she had experienced during her childhood.

“When I was about ten, my mom passed down her first camera to me. It was an antique to say the least and it wasn’t always reliable when I wanted to take a picture,” she admitted with a laugh. “But it’s one of my most beloved treasures.”

“Where was your favorite place to travel to?”

“Reykjavik, Iceland,” Fran answered, naming a place that wasn’t on her earlier list. “One of the coolest things there was that they baked their bread in the ground. Not to mention all of the museums and festivals they would hold!

But oh, one of my favorite sights there was during winter at night. On clear nights not only was the sky littered with stars but we could see the aurora borealis! The light, the colors!” Fran squeezed her plushie to her as she sighed in fond remembrance. “The way the light was formed, its shape, seemed to undulate across the night sky like it was a living being.”

RJ felt warmth begin to stir in his heart as he listened to Fran; the clear love in her words as she wove the tales of her childhood, saw the way her large amber eyes lit up in excitement as a bright smile overtook her lips.

He always knew that she was cute, pretty even, but there was something about the way she told her story, the way she had been a supportive, steady presence when she listened to him talk about his own childhood.

The way she had fit into his arms and how he wished that she could have stayed there.

Instead she was on her own futon, hugging a _wolf_ plush of all things. Not that she knew what the significance of that was to him but still!

Her long brown hair was loose; the curls gently framing her face with a few tendrils falling close to her eyes and he had to clench his hand into a fist so he wouldn’t reach out and tuck those pieces back. The urge to sit forward and kiss her hit him out of nowhere.

He buried his face into his pillow and let out a muffled groan. Seriously, what was he? A lead character in some young adult novel?

Fran startled at the sight of RJ slamming his face into his pillow and groaning. “Um…I’m not boring you, am I?”

RJ popped up, eyes wide at the thought of inadvertently insulting Fran. “N-no! No, of course not! I just—“

He stopped when he took in the smile on Fran’s face, the impish look in her eyes.

“You’re teasing,” he stated flatly.

“Pretty much.” She tilted her head, gentling her expression. “Are you tired?”

He thought for a minute. “A little,” he admitted, tonight’s emotional rollercoaster more draining than any sort of physical activity he had done during the day. He picked up his cell phone from where it lay on the floor, the digital clock reading a quarter past eleven. “It _is_ getting late.”

“Then we should sleep.”

RJ wasn’t sure if he would actually get any rest that night, fully convinced that he would be up all night, consumed by thoughts of this new and sudden crush on Fran.

But…was it all that new and sudden?

No no no no…now was _not_ the time for introspection and thoughts of the transition from friendship to romance. Wonderful distraction though it would be from the memories of his father which were admittedly still stinging despite being on the mental backburner, RJ simply wasn’t in the mood to deal with deep thinking.

Now? Now was the time for _sleep_.

RJ smiled gently at Fran. “Thanks for coming over to wait out this storm with me. I’m sorry that we’re not staying up all night.”

Doing her best to return his smile despite the yawn that warped that effort, Fran replied, “Nah, if I’m going to be honest, I probably would have tapped out sooner rather than later. Thank you for having me over.”

He chuckled at that. “You’re welcome. Goodnight, Fran.”

“Night, RJ.”

He clapped his hands, plunging his loft into darkness. At Fran’s giggles, he rolled his eyes, smiling despite himself. “ _Goodnight_ , Fran,” he reiterated.

Through her giggles she answered him in as innocent a tone as she could muster. “Goodnight, RJ.”

As he started to drift off to sleep, RJ became aware of a presence, small and light, jumping onto his bed. He heard the soft, steady sound of a cat’s purr and through eyes half-closed saw Smoky. She lightly butted her head against his before moving to curl up against his arm. Glancing across the way at Fran’s futon he saw Gouda settling in against the small of Fran’s back. 

Sighing contentedly, RJ closed his eyes, slipping into sleep. It had been a really great night, even with the awakening of the memories of his father. He had a new pet, something he had never had before and had gotten to know his new best friend even better than ever.

His new best friend who maybe just maybe might not stay just a friend for very long.

But that was a concept he could grapple with another time.

Right now was the time for _rest._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The events of the storm end next chapter and we'll see that spark begin to grow. Maybe even see things from Fran's perspective since this chapter was largely from RJ's.


	5. Quiet Intimacies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snapshots of RJ and Fran's friendship as they grow closer.

Calculated Risk

Disclaimer: The Power Rangers aren't mine. C'est la vie

Chapter Five: Quiet Intimacies

* * *

_SLAM!_

Fran awoke with a shriek, sitting bolt upright at the sudden and deafening sound of something striking the ground. Whatever it was, it wasn't thunder. She knows thunder. That—whatever the heck it was—was far scarier.

Fran was struggling to get her pounding heart to settle to a more steady rhythm when she finally noticed RJ, or at least an outline of him, sitting up on his futon. When he spoke his voice sounded very bleary and bewildered.

"Huh. I guess the power's gone out. Not sure if it's just the neighborhood or the whole city. Are you okay?"

"As soon as my heart starts calming down," Fran whispered. "I'll let you know."

Without a second of hesitation, RJ crawled over to her futon and sat himself behind her, wrapping his arms around her. He kept his left arm wrapped around her waist as he gently slid his right hand over her shoulder before coming to rest against her sternum while carefully pulling her back so her spine was flush against his chest. He frowned as he felt just how fast and hard Fran's heart was beating. It was understandable as she did just endure a rather awful scare, but that didn't mean that he had to like it.

"Breathe with me," He told her quietly as he rested his forehead against the back of her head.

"Inhale. Through the nose," His voice was warm and soft as he instructed her. He waited until he heard her comply. "And exhale through the mouth. Slowly though, or you're setting yourself up for another panic attack."

Thankfully, Fran followed his instructions without complaint. They breathed together for several moments, slowly inhaling and exhaling as Fran's heart began to gradually relax beneath his touch.

RJ released a silent breath of relief, the air stirring his friend's loose brown locks as his own shoulders unclenched. He put as much lightheartedness into his voice as he could muster. "Feel better?"

"Yeah," Fran breathed. "Thank you."

He hugged her a little tighter. "Anytime."

Fran turned her head and RJ could practically feel her distaste at being in complete darkness. He distracted himself from the thought of giving her any sort of hint to Master Swoop and the Swoop technique by carefully reaching out and grinning when he successfully booped her on the nose.

"Wh-what was that for?!"

"Just had a feeling that you had that annoyed look on your face you sometimes get," RJ replied blithely. "And you do! Because your nose was all wrinkly when I tapped it and whenever you're annoyed, your nose wrinkles, your lips frown and your eyes narrow into this…" He waved his hand in the air as if he could physically touch the word he was searching for. "I don't know how to describe it…ladylike sneer."

"'Ladylike sneer…'" Fran echoed disbelieving.

"Yup."

"And why do you think I'm annoyed?"

"Because we can't see anything."

"That's true," Fran admitted. She then grew concerned and began patting her futon, thrusting her hands into her sheets and sleeping bag. "I also can't see or feel Gouda!"

Her hand skimmed along her futon and something round and firm jumped beneath her touch. Definitely not the soft fur of a kitten however. "RJ, is that you?"

"Yep, that would be me." His voice came out as an embarrassed squeak and Fran leaned back violently, nearly falling off the futon in the process.

"O-oh goodness…what did I just…?"

RJ nearly slammed back onto the futon as he howled in laughter. "My…my knee!" He wheezed. "You…you touched my knee!"

"Oh…" Heat flooded her face as Fran began to wonder if there was any scientific possibility of dying from humiliation. "But the way you reacted…"

RJ cleared his throat, trying to contain his laughter as he explained. "I'm…ah…kinda ticklish there…"

Fran was silent for a full minute as she bit down on a smile. In as casual a voice she could muster, she said, "Filing that away for later…now where is my kitten?"

"She probably took off when the power went out," RJ theorized sensibly. "I'll bet Smoky fled as well."

His friend hummed as she leaned over the edge of the bed, patting around for her backpack. Once her fingers wrapped around one of the straps, she grinned and pulled it onto her lap. She opened the main section and rummaged around before pulling out a flashlight.

Fran snapped on the light, making sure to aim it away from RJ's eyes as she did so. "That's better!" She then laughed sheepishly. "I forgot I brought this with me."

"If it makes you feel better, I forgot to grab my own flashlights and candles too."

RJ slid off the futon and held out a hand, "Care to take a walk with me to find them, milady?"

With a beaming smile, Fran slid her hand into RJ's. "It would be my pleasure, milord."

Keeping her hand in his, RJ led Fran over to a shelf a short distance from his bed. He knelt down and opened a toolbox on the bottom level, grateful that he didn't have to ask Fran to keep the flashlight trained on him as he opened it and pulled out his own flashlight.

He snapped on the flashlight and placed it under his chin in the clichéd "scary stories" look but any sort of playful menace he may have intended was ruined when he waggled his eyebrows at Fran.

"It's a crime against sleepovers that we didn't tell each other scary stories," RJ declared.

Fran smirked. "I bet I've read stories that are scarier than whatever _you_ can tell me." She spun on her heel and booked it back to her futon, knowing she would never be able to keep up a pretense of innocence.

RJ gaped at her for a full minute before spluttering, "W-would you like to make an actual bet?!"

"Not tonight, I'm too tired. I would like to know what caused that sound from before."

"You mean the one that nearly gave you a heart attack?" RJ asked cheekily as he joined her by the windows.

Fran rolled her eyes before voicing her speculation. "I don't think it was a blown transformer, they don't normally sound like that."

"No," RJ agreed. "Besides that sounded like something hitting the ground." His sea green eyes roved the stormy scene before him; taking in the trees blowing in the wind, some of them dangerously close to falling onto houses and cars. The rain fell so hard and fast that he could see the sheets of water as they plummeted to the ground, before rushing in shallow rivers over the asphalt. He winced when a bright flash over lightning nearly assaulted his vision.

"I thought the lightning was done," he grumbled, just barely audible over the accompanying thunder.

"Apparently not."

Sighing, RJ blinked until his vision cleared and then continued looking for whatever had fallen and woken them up. It was a few minutes before his eyes snagged on something and he gently elbowed Fran to get her attention. "Fran, look!"

Following RJ's line of sight, Fran gasped when she saw a line of telephone poles and powerlines lying on the ground. "Oh my gosh!"

Unthinkingly, RJ wrapped an arm around Fran's shoulders pulling her tight to his side. "Man am I glad that neither one of us is out there right now."

"Or the cats…" Fran bit her lip in worry. "If the wind can do _this_ , I can only imagine what's become of the windows in my apartment."

"Well, you're more than welcome to stay here if that's the case."

She hesitated only to be cut off by RJ adding, "And don't tell me you're concerned about imposing because I'm telling you right now, you're not."

Fran blushed, grateful that the relative darkness of the room hid that from RJ's view. "Thank you."

A large yawn interrupted his response, "C'mon, let's go back to sleep. Pretty sure I won't be opening the restaurant today anyway."

"Maybe you should." At RJ's curious look, Fran continued, "In case there are people who need a warm place to go with an internet connection and food."

"As sweet as that suggestion is, it might be too dangerous to travel around too soon," RJ gently pointed out. "What with the downed powerlines and all."

Fran winced, "Good point."

RJ guided her back to the futons and threw himself gracelessly onto his. "We'll figure out a game plan later."

Fran laid back down on her own futon. "Okay."

"G'night, Fran…again."

"Good morning, RJ," Fran giggled as she slipped into sleep.

* * *

Hours later as RJ stumbled from the bathroom where he had gotten changed with only the aid of his and Fran's flashlights, he was greeted with the sound of annoyed grunts, cries of pain and what shocked him the most—swearing.

At least he was fairly certain Fran was swearing. She wasn't speaking in English however.

As he got closer to Fran, he saw that she was sitting on her bed, fully dressed for the day while declaring war on her hair that had apparently gotten tangled overnight. He jumped when she yelled, "OW!"

"Are you supposed to be a bit gentler when dealing with knots?"

He had to hide a smile when she glared up at him, fire in her amber eyes. "I've been dealing with this for the past ten minutes," she replied primly. "Gentle got me nowhere."

"Want me to give it a shot?"

Arching an eyebrow in challenge, Fran wordlessly handed over her brush and sat cross-legged as she awaited RJ's attempt at detangling her stubborn tresses.

RJ took a seat behind her and reached for a few strands that were indeed tangled together. Gingerly he worked his way through the knot moving from the bottom up, a trick his mother had taught him when his own hair would occasionally rebel.

The pair sat silently as RJ continued to gently untangle Fran's hair. He'd noticed that whenever her hair was down rather than tied back, it would fall in loose curls that gave Fran the look of a princess. He was also beginning to notice that her hair was smooth and glossy.

And not that he would ever tell her, but really nice to touch.

RJ ran the brush through Fran's hair, an almost thoughtful expression on his face as he hunted around for any more tiny tangles, grateful that none of the knots were near the roots of her hair because he knew that no matter how gentle he could be with the brush, it would more than likely hurt her and he would never want that.

"Want me to braid your hair?"

Fran turned around at that, blushing slightly when she saw that RJ still had her hair in his hand, fingers absently twirling the strands. "Did your mom teach you?"

"Mhm," RJ confirmed with a nod. "Sometimes I'd braid her hair. Heck, I even used to braid my dad's hair on the rare occasion because it's longer than mine _and_ my mom's."

Relieved to see and hear that talking about his dad didn't seem to cause any sort of negative emotions within RJ's countenance, Fran nodded in encouragement. "Go for it."

Once Fran was facing away from him, RJ brushed her hair once more, doing his best to get the curls to lay a little straighter. Once her hair was to his satisfaction, he separated it into three seconds and began weaving a basic braid.

Butterflies began to flood Fran's stomach as she felt RJ's hands in her hair as he braided it, doing her best not to shiver every time his fingertips accidentally brushed the back of her neck. It was such a simple task, but in this silence, it felt almost intimate as if only the two of them existed.

_Oh dear_ , Fran bit her lip in slight embarrassment. _Am I getting a crush on RJ?_ He was sweet, kind, patient, clever, made her laugh often…it didn't hurt either that he had shaggy brown locks that she found herself wanting to play with recently and eyes the color of a sea that could drown her.

_Okay…_ Fran admitted to herself _. Maybe I_ am _crushing on RJ…dare I say anything in the future though or will that cause me to lose him?_

RJ broke through her fretting by cheerfully declaring, "All done!"

Fran blinked, surprised that she had lost herself in her reverie. It didn't always happen with her thoughts unless those thoughts were occupied by a book; or if she was reading said book. Reaching behind her, she felt the classic plait that made up a braid and grinned. RJ had done a great job. She turned and was about to thank him when he surprised her by looking concerned and asking what was wrong.

"Uh…nothing?"

"Then why is the light in your eyes not there right now?" RJ questioned as he gestured to said eyes. "Actually your whole aura seems off. Like you're hiding in rain clouds or something."

Fran looked at him in confusion. "My aura…"

"I said what I said."

She laughed at that. "Just…thinking some heavy thoughts I guess."

RJ arched a brow at her response. "Anything you want to share with the class?"

"Maybe later…"

He nodded, deciding to let it go for the time being, feeling better about hearing her laugh. "I'll hold you to it."

Fran played with the end of the braid, "Want me to braid _your_ hair?"

RJ laughed slightly. "I don't think my hair's long enough for that."

Fran studied him for a second before asking, "What about a Padawan braid?"

He brightened at that. "Now _that_ could be cool."

Smiling, Fran shifted so she faced RJ completely. She gently took hold a section of RJ's hair just behind his left ear, still starting near the scalp and began weaving the same plait that he had given her. His tresses were just as silky as she thought they would be and from sitting this close to him, she could see just how sharp his jawline was, the stubble that grew along it and lips that were fuller than she realized.

The butterflies in her stomach grew in number.

Ducking her face slightly so that RJ wouldn't see the blush flooding her cheeks, Fran finished the braid. She instructed him to hold the end in place while she fished a band from her backpack and wrapped it around the braid.

"There you go," She grinned. "All set, Padawan James."

RJ snickered and stood, sketching a quick Jedi bow. "Thank you, Master Rossi."

Fran scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I'm no Jedi Master."

"You'd make a great knight," RJ assured her. "Like Obi-Wan Kenobi or Jocasta Nu."

Fran looked at him in interest. "You know of Jocasta?"

"The badass librarian? D'uh!"

Fran laughed at that before she turned to look out the windows. "I think the worst of the storm has passed. Do you think it's safe enough to go outside and see how the restaurant held up?"

"I think we came through the storm okay but part of me is afraid I might be wrong," RJ admitted.

Fran stood from her futon and held out a hand to RJ. "Only one way to find out."

Taking Fran's hand in his, RJ stood and led the way toward the restaurant. Once the pair made their way down the stairs, RJ nearly sagged against his friend in relief when he saw that the restaurant had indeed made it through the storm unscathed. There were no shards of broken glass on the floor, nor was there any evidence of flooding. The only "damage" there was was the fact that the power was out.

"Okay so I just don't open the refrigerators or freezer for a day or two and I think this will be survivable," RJ mused.

Fran squeezed his hand. "I think so too." She sighed warily before continuing, "My place on the other hand…"

"Well, we'll go in a little while," RJ told her reassuringly. "I think the roads are pretty flooded out so it might not be until tonight that we can go see. And hey…if you need to stay for another night or two…"

Fran blushed and grumbled about not being sure if she had enough clothes in her duffle.

"I do own a washer and dryer."

"Okay…"

"Awesome!" RJ cheered. "Now I don't know about you, but I'm hungry and I know there's a banana-chocolate chip muffin or two with my name on it."

Fran laughed at that. "Yeah, same."

* * *

It was early evening when Fran had received a call from her landlord promising her that all was well with her apartment and the building overall and once the flood waters had receded, RJ drove Fran back to her home. She opened her mouth to apologize for the fifth time for being unnecessarily worried about the possibility of her windows blowing in when a bemused RJ cut her off.

"Stop," he told her, gently placing a hand on her arm. "I had a lot of fun and we wouldn't have had that fun if you weren't there."

"True," Fran conceded, unable to school her features into anything other than sheepish.

"Besides," RJ went on. "Without you, I probably wouldn't have even known that there were cats out there to rescue."

Fran sighed, her shoulders slumped at that. She had asked the landlord if she would be able to keep the strays with her, promising up and down to get them vaccinated and chipped but the kindly widow who owned her apartment gently told Fran that the building association decreed that residents were only allowed one pet per apartment. Unwilling to separate Gouda from Smoky, Fran resigned herself to leaving the fluffy white kitten at Jungle Karma. RJ had immediately promised her that he would take excellent care of the cats and that she could visit whenever he wanted.

Knowing what had brought her mood down, RJ patted her hand. "It'll be okay, Fran. I'm planning on taking them to the vet tomorrow if the office is open." Briefly he flicked his gaze to her. "You're more than welcome to come with me if you want. So long as you're off work."

Fran gave a small laugh as they pulled up to her apartment complex. "I actually am scheduled for the day off as a matter of fact." She hopped out of the jeep and pulled out her duffel and sleeping bag from the back. "What time do you want to meet up?"

"Ten?" RJ asked as he joined her on the passenger side of the truck.

"Sounds good to me," Fran agreed with a nod. "Thank you again for anything."

"Totally up for doing it again." He pulled her into his arms. "Preferably without the threat of terrible weather."

"Thank goodness we don't live where blizzards happen."

"Exactly."

The pair lingered in the embrace for a long moment, neither one ready to say goodbye just yet. Finally Fran hugged RJ tighter to her before releasing him. "See you tomorrow," she said as she hitched her duffel bag to her shoulder.

"Until tomorrow."

A surge of courage coursed through her and before she could fully think about it, Fran stretched to her full height and placed a soft kiss on RJ's cheek. Two heartbeats later and she spun away from him, a violent blush on her face as she all but sprinted into her building.

RJ merely stood there, eyes blinking as he gradually registered the fact that Fran had indeed kissed him. A kiss on the cheek, but still. A kiss. A small kernel of hope began to bloom in his chest at the possibility of having his feelings for her turn out to be mutual.

* * *

RJ and Fran didn't get to the veterinarian's office until eleven-thirty the next morning due to the struggle of fitting the unhappy kittens into their carrier along with the appointment time being the only one available that was early.

Fran had the carrier settled on her lap while RJ handled the paperwork. She kept cooing to the mewing kittens, reaching in as far as she could to stroke their fur with a gentle finger, making sure to give an equal amount of attention to each cat. She glanced up just in time to see the vet's technician poke her head into the waiting area and call RJ's name. Fran continued to coo at Smoky and Gouda as they made their way into the exam room, hardly aware of RJ wrapping a friendly arm around her shoulders.

Ten minutes after the vet began her examination of the kittens, which included checking the healthiness of their coats and skin, clarity of their eyesight and strength of hearing, RJ asked, "So doc, how are our kids doing?"

Fran looked at him, eyes filled with confusion. "Kids? RJ, they're baby cats, not baby goats."

"Oh no, Fran. I just meant that—" He noticed the mischief that replaced the confusion in her gaze and rolled his eyes. "Oh ha ha. You're just messing with me."

Fran giggled and patted his arm in apology.

The vet smiled at the two friends. "You two are an adorable couple," she observed.

Both RJ and Fran froze, their eyes wide as their faces heated with a blush. "Oh…oh uh, um…we're…we're not…" Fran blustered.

RJ squeezed Fran's shoulders. "She's my best friend and…" he trailed off, unsure how to finish his thought without sounding like a jackass.

"We're best friends," Fran said firmly.

The vet held her hands up placatingly. "No matter then. As for the real reason why we're here, both Smoky and Gouda seem to be in excellent health for their age. No more than ten months, I would wager. Now, one thing to note is Gouda's heterochromia. Usually cats who have one blue eye tend to have severe hearing loss on that side."

"Oh," Fran frowned in concern.

"It's nothing detrimental in the long run," the vet assured her. "Her hearing is just fine for right now and even if she loses hearing in the left ear, Gouda will still be able to live a fulfilling life."

"That's good to know," RJ chimed in, giving the doctor a grateful smile.

"Now all we need to do is get these two ladies vaccinated and chipped then they can head back home."

* * *

Thirty minutes later, RJ and Fran were back in the loft above the JKP, playing with the pair of disgruntled kittens whom were still annoyed with receiving shots, being chipped and shoved back into the carrier.

Really, to the kittens' perspective, it was just rude.

"Don't you worry Gouda," Fran told the kitten in her lap seriously. "You're still gonna be awesome, even if you do become deaf in one ear."

RJ reached over to gently stroke the kitten's ears. "She'll be great," he confirmed. "I won't let you down."

Fran arched a brow, "I still get to see her whenever, yeah?"

"Just text first."

"Like I would just ambush you," Fran scoffed. There was a decidedly heavy pause before she added. "Unless we're talking tickle attacks of course."

The look she slanted him plus the smirk on her face were decidedly _evil_ in RJ's opinion and he found himself hastily removing Smoky from his lap. "Oh no you don't."

Fran blinked at him, a mock innocent look on her face. "No I don't what, RJ?"

Her hand darted out and lightly grazed his side, eliciting a giggle from her friend. He blushed and swatted her hand away. "Don't do that!"

RJ took off running across the loft as Fran chased him while laughing, eager to catch up to him and see where else she could tickle him and get him to giggle like he had done so just seconds ago.

Ooh! Maybe there was a chance she could make him snort!

* * *

Three weeks after Smoky and Gouda's first visit to the vet found Fran walking into Jungle Karma Pizza an hour before closing. RJ looked up from where he was ringing up a take-out order and had to do a double take at the sight of his best friend.

Fran was always pretty, but she had never dressed up, always preferring to be in jeans and a t-shirt or shorts and a tank. That night however she was clad in a dark purple t-shirt that RJ quickly looked away from, heat suffusing his face when he realized that it was cut lower than he had ever seen on her, revealing a dusting of freckles just above her clavicle. A black skirt decorated with purple wildflowers flowed from her hips to her ankles. Her curls were free from any ties, gently framing her face while her cheeks were a shimmery rose, her eyes which were not framed by eyeglasses appeared to be larger by the smoky eyeshadow highlighting the lids and RJ could have sworn the lip gloss Fran wore put her mouth into a pout.

All in all, Fran looked like a whole other woman.

Yet when she made eye contact with him and smiled bashfully, RJ immediately found his best friend in her gaze and grinned. "You're looking awfully dolled up!" His smile went tight as he did his damnedest to stamp out the sharp jab of jealousy in his heart as he then asked, "Have a hot date tonight?" He also did his best to ignore the sudden smugness that crept in from the recesses of his mind. _Nosy wolf…_

His heart then jolted in shock when she winked at him and replied, "Why? Are you asking?" She then laughed and shook her head, "No, no date tonight, RJ. I've got work."

RJ frowned slightly at that as he glanced at the clock near the door. "Now? Isn't the library closing in an hour?"

"It is," Fran confirmed with a nod. "To the _public_. However tonight's the lock in so I'm helping with that."

"…Lock in…?"

Fran looked at him in surprise. "Did I not tell you about that?" When RJ shook his head, Fran lightly facepalmed herself before explaining; "The teen club that I volunteer with has a party at the end of every school year. No thanks to that storm earlier in the month, it got pushed back to today. What happens is when the library is closed to the public, we have your typical party food, pizza…ice cream. We play games and watch movies and even work on arts and crafts that we'll use for the kids' summer reading program launch party that starts in July. The club members' favorite part is the fact that this party lasts until midnight."

"That sounds awesome!" RJ enthused. He then smirked. "Let me guess? You're here for the pizza?"

Fran laughed. "Correctamundo," she replied, earning a grin from RJ. "I'm also here to ask if you wanted to come with me. We're down a librarian to serve as chaperone so I was wondering if you'd like to fill that spot. I already vouched for you with my boss just in case you said yes."

"Heck yeah, I'm in," RJ said. "Let me just handle your order and then after I close up, we can go." He glanced down at his uniform and laughed. "After I find something a little more appropriate."

"You don't have to get dressed up," Fran assured him. When he shot a meaningful glance at her own outfit, Fran rolled her eyes and elaborated. "This outfit is because, a: it's a party and b: it's hot out but it's still a work occasion so the skirt is the answer here."

"Gotcha."

An hour later, RJ, whom had changed into a grey and purple t-shirt and black pants, unthinkingly complementing Fran's outfit; balanced a stack of four pizzas on one arm as he offered Fran the other, "Ready whenever you are, princess."

"Princess?!" She laughed as she looped her arm through his. She looked down at her skirt. "Is it because of this?" She sashayed her hips, making the skirt fly out as if she were dancing in a ball gown instead.

RJ merely grinned and met her eyes directly as he answered her, "Nope."

She was flustered the entire ride to the library.

* * *

The following night Fran sat in RJ's chair, reading her newest book as she waited for RJ to finish with a delivery order that was across town. Smoky was curled up on the arm, quietly purring as Fran pet her. Gouda was draped along the top of the chair, sound asleep although occasionally she could be her snoring, a sound that amused Fran to no end. Fran was in the middle of a chapter that was heading into the climax of the story when RJ trudged up the stairs into the loft, sighing loudly as he did so.

"Everything alright?" Fran asked as she glanced up from her book. Inwardly she winced when she saw the exhaustion in the set of his shoulders and the overall unhappy look on his face. "Bad delivery run?"

"Just a really long, busy day."

"I'm sorry," Fran lamented. "I should have offered to help you."

RJ managed to chuckle at that. "How? You were working today."

"I know. I just feel like still could have done something when I came here instead of sitting around and reading."

"Didn't you feed the cats?"

"I did," Fran confirmed. "I also cleaned out their litter box and managed to wrestle with Gouda and trim her nails." She shot a dirty look at Smoky whom appeared nonplussed. " _She_ just hid."

"Eh. I'll handle her." RJ walked over to Fran and lifted her arm before ducking underneath it and seating himself next to her. He then draped the arm he held over his shoulder, keeping hold of her hand. He slouched slightly and snuggled in close. "So, what're we reading?"

Fran smiled down at her book. "It's called Cinder, the first book to a series called _The Lunar Chronicles_. It's a cyberpunk take on several tales."

RJ laid his head on Fran's shoulder. "Let me guess, Cinderella is the main character of the first book?"

"Her name is Cinder here," Fran explained. "She's actually a cyborg from the moon!"

RJ slid his incredulous gaze over to her, brow arched. "I beg your pardon?"

Fran giggled and elaborated. "Yeah, there's a race on the moon called the Lunars. They have this awful hierarchy between those who can pull off glamour and those who cannot. Those who can't like Cinder here; they are called shells. They are _very_ looked down upon."

"Ouch."

"Not to mention the biological warfare that the Lunars have launched on the people of Earth."

"Wait, what?!"

"Yup," Fran nodded seriously. "I'm pretty sure it's a political ploy thought up by Queen Levana of Luna—that's what they call the moon, by the way. She seems to be after the Empress's crown of the Eastern Commonwealth so she can eventually take over both worlds."

"That's intense." RJ's eyes were wide and alight with interest. "I wanna read too."

Without prompt, Fran flipped the book back to the beginning. "Ready?"

"Ready."

Thirty pages into the story and Fran became aware of two things. One, RJ had stopped peppering their reading session with questions and commentary; two, his breathing had become heavier and steadier. Glancing down at him from the corner of her eye had confirmed her suspicions. He had fallen asleep.

Smiling softly at the sight, Fran returned her attention to the book. She kept one finger on the spot where they had left off and flipped ahead to where she was reading before RJ had returned home. It wasn't all that late into the night and she didn't have the heart to move him.

She was nearing the end of the book and was beginning to begin to doze off herself when RJ moved, startling her into wakefulness. He sighed and shifted, moving closer to the crook of her neck, gently squeezing the hand he still held.

"I really like you Fran," he murmured, his voice slurred with sleep. "I like you so much."

He fell back asleep, his lips lightly brushing against her collarbone as he shifted. That, combined with his confession had Fran turning a violent shade of red as she did her best not to squeak in shock and wake him.

_Okay…okay…_ Fran tried to rationalize. _He's asleep. He has no idea what he's saying._

Yet Fran couldn't fully shake the notion that RJ was indeed sincere and that he returned her feelings.

Exhaling as quietly as she could, Fran gently laid her head against RJ's. Just before her eyes closed she whispered, "I like you too, RJ. So, so much."

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yaaaaay! We have a confession! Question is: will they remember when they wake up? Find out next chapter! Hoping to have that up within a week or two.
> 
> Needless to say, I don't own Star Wars either. Can't hurt to cover my bases with disclaimers though.
> 
> The lock in really does happen! In the library in my hometown, every June there's a lock in just like the one described in my story. The Lunar Chronicles also exists and is an awesome series! Kinda wish it could be a movie or television show...
> 
> Reviews encourage and inspire me, so please send them!


	6. New Beginnings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Feelings are confirmed and a new start takes place

RJ’s eyes snapped open, taking in the mostly darkened room save for the lit lamp standing next to him and Fran. He became aware of a weight against the top of his head and figured it was Fran’s own head resting on him. Listening to the steady sound of her breathing, RJ deduced that she must have fallen asleep some point after he did.

Gingerly he lifted his head away from Fran, carefully guiding her head to rest on his shoulder as he focused his gaze on the digital clock built into the cable box sitting on top of one of his televisions. The glowing green read out told him that it was eleven thirty at night. Way too late to send Fran home and he was far too tired to drive her.

A smile began to make its way across his face. All the more reason for her to stay!

RJ quietly huffed out a chuckle. He had been hoping Fran could stay over again, he just wasn’t expecting it to be this soon. Not that he was complaining, mind you.

The movement from his soft laugh was enough to wake Fran who sat up, rubbing at her tired eyes as she murmured incoherent nonsense. She stretched for a minute while she tried to get her bearings before finally looking over at RJ. “I should go home.”

“It’s late,” RJ replied. “Half hour til midnight.”

That made Fran more alert. “I slept for nearly three hours?!”

RJ grinned. “Guess you needed the rest.”

“Yeah,” Fran laughed. “I guess.” Her laughter tapered off into a yawn. “Ugh, I think I could still go straight to bed.”

“I could get you the futon.”

Fran shook her head. “It’s okay. I’ll walk home.”

RJ arched a brow at that. “At this hour? In this heat? Fran, it’s sweltering out there, you’ll melt.”

She stuck her tongue out at him. “I’m not that sweet.”

That remark earned her a chuckle from RJ. “Seriously, Fran. It’s no trouble if you stay here tonight. I can see how tired you are.”

Fran sighed heavily, exaggeratedly. “Well, it _is_ a very comfortable futon and you _are_ inviting me. So I guess I can stay.”

“Great!” RJ popped up from the recliner and darted off to find the futon. As he walked about his loft, RJ was hit with the memory of several hours ago. He recalled snuggling in to Fran as he sank into a deeper sleep. He could also hear himself telling Fran that he liked her.

His eyes went wide as that revelation solidified itself in his mind. Oh. Oh man, oh no. He told her that he liked her? Did she hear him? Did she remember that now? His stomach clenched in slight fear as he wondered if he went one step further and actually asked Fran out.

RJ also mentally replayed the conversation he had just had with Fran after she had woken up. She made no mention of his confession, their talk was full of banter and cajole as per usual. If Fran knew that he liked her, no doubt that she would be sheepish and bashful, insisting that he could find someone better than he even though RJ was pretty damn certain that Fran was already a perfect fit for him. Or as close to perfect as one could be.

Finding the futon, RJ slowly began pushing it over to Fran. He was hesitant in his steps, afraid to find that in the chance that if she was more alert; she would remember what he had told her. He just hoped that even if she turned him down, Fran wouldn’t be uncomfortable in his presence going forward.

He jumped when Fran’s voice broke him from his melancholy reverie. “Everything okay?”

“Everything’s great.”

Fran crossed her arms and tilted her head. “Then why is your aura hiding in the clouds?”

RJ laughed weakly as she recalled his own words to her from last month. “I’m just…nervous.”

“About what?”

“Uh…” he swallowed against a suddenly dry throat. “I was just remembering something, something that I may or may not have said to you. No big thing, I may not have even said it but I feel like I did? Okay, so maybe it is a _slightly_ bigger thing than I’m making it out to be but—”

“Breathe, RJ,” Fran told him with a hint of amusement in her tone.

“That’s my line.” He absently raked a hand through his hair in a clear display of nerves before taking a deep, centering breath. _Might as well bite the bullet…_ He lifted his gaze to meet hers. “Did I ask you out?”

Fran was taken aback. “No?”

RJ absorbed this, unsure if he should be relieved by her answer or not. Alright so he hadn’t made things weird or uncomfortable between the two of them, but now that it was on his mind, RJ found that he actually wanted to ask her out and hopefully she would say yes.

“You did tell me that you liked me,” Fran went on, completely unaware of her friend’s thought process. She smiled. “That you liked me so much.”

RJ stared at her, suddenly nervous again. Ah crap, she had heard him.

Fran’s smile widened and there was kindness in her eyes, enough to fill RJ with slight hope. “I told you that I liked you too. So, _so_ much. You just happened to be asleep when I said it.”

Green eyes went wide at her words. “Wait…” The beginnings of a wide grin showed on his face. “Really?”

“Can’t you read the truth in my aura?” Fran asked playfully.

RJ laughed loudly at that as he crossed the room to her in four strides, wrapping her up in a tight hug. He smiled into her shoulder while holding her close, reveling in the sweet feeling of warmth and relief that washed through him. “Will you go out with me?”

Fran nodded, tightening the embrace. “Yes, I’d love to go out with you.”

Filled with glee and completely unable to help himself, RJ lifted Fran off her feet and spun in a circle, laughing at her surprised shriek that quickly tapered off into giggles. When he set her back on her feet, their gazes locked and the moment quickly became heady as they found themselves unable to look away.

Fran became aware of her breath becoming heavy as she continued to stare into RJ’s eyes, this time more of an emerald rather than sea green due to the relative darkness of the loft. Her heartbeat quickened when RJ gently caressed her face, cupping her cheek. There was an intent curiosity displayed openly on his own visage, an expression that made her both nervous and excited.

“Can I kiss you?”

Fran stared at him though deep down she knew she shouldn’t have been so surprised. She was a reader, for heaven’s sake. She knew how to find context clues and how to read between the lines fairly easily. Yet she still found herself shocked that RJ wanted to kiss her.

As coyly as she could muster, Fran replied, “Before the first date?”

RJ laughed softly but kept his hand on her cheek, his thumb gently stroking her skin. “If you don’t mind…”

“I don’t…”

RJ leaned in, Fran shyly tipping her head up to meet his. They gently brushed lips. Once. Twice. Then Fran pulled away, burying her flaming face in his shoulder, grinning madly as she did so.

RJ chuckled, running his fingers through her hair. “You okay?”

Fran giggled helplessly. “Mhm.” After a minute, she caught her breath and straightened. “Can we do that again?”

He closed the gap in lieu of a response, softly pressing his mouth to hers. Instincts she didn’t even know that she had kicked in and she kissed him back, winding her arms around his neck as his came to rest around her waist. Her fingers became entangled in his soft locks, nails lightly scraping against his scalp eliciting a moan as he kissed her harder.

When the need for air became too much, the pair broke apart. As they caught their breath, their gazes met and wide, silly grins crossed their lips. They kissed again, lips hardly meeting as they breathlessly giggled. A minute passed and they regained their composures long enough to kiss properly, mouths fitting together, fingers sliding through hair as quiet moans were the only sounds that filled the silence.

“Should have kissed you ages ago,” RJ said after catching his breath a second time.

“Yeah, same.”

RJ kissed Fran briefly before forcing himself to take a step back. “As much as I’d like to keep doing that, we should really be heading to bed.”

Fran glanced at her watch. “Five minutes after midnight,” she reported. “Funny, I don’t feel like much of a pumpkin.”

“Cinderella doesn’t get turned into a pumpkin,” RJ mock chided. “You know that.”

“I do.”

The new couple held hands as RJ led Fran over to her futon. He kissed her hand, eyes remaining on her flustered face. “Good night, my princess.”

She threw herself onto the futon and hid her steaming face in the pillow. “Good night, my rogue!”

RJ laughed as he made his way to his own bed. “I’ll make my way up to knight.”

“Of that, I have no doubt.”

* * *

RJ paced back and forth in Jungle Karma’s kitchen nervously gripping his phone as he walked. It had been three days since he and Fran had revealed their mutually held romantic feelings for one another. In that time they had met up—mainly at Jungle Karma due to their differing work schedules—and shared plenty of kisses, but they had yet to go out on an actual _date_. The problem was; RJ had no idea where to take Fran.

The movies seemed too cliché as did a walk on the beach. RJ knew that she loved books but had a feeling that she would tell him to go to the pond for being such a silly goose if he suggested going to the bookstore even if it did have a café in it.

Fran was adorable like that.

RJ let out a quiet growl as he roughly raked a hand through his hair. This shouldn’t be so hard! Why couldn’t he just think of a place to take Fran? It didn’t necessarily have to be perfect; as Fran would have told him, perfection was boring as there was no room for growth and finding out what levels one could go beyond.

Granted, it probably wasn’t that deep for a first date but still.

He was on what he guessed was his twentieth lap around the kitchen when his phone vibrated. Glancing at the display, he beamed and accepted the call. “Hi, princess.”

Fran’s voice was both fond and exasperated. “Hi, RJ.”

“What’s up?”

“I was just wondering if you were free after closing this Saturday.”

“I normally do my grocery shopping for the week on Saturdays,” RJ admitted. “But no reason I can’t do it Friday night instead. Why? What’s the plan?”

Was she about to make things worlds easier for him by planning the date?

“I was wondering if you wanted to go to the pier,” Fran said. “It’s the annual summer festival. Live music, carnival games, even food trucks and fireworks!”

RJ smacked himself in the forehead. “I can’t believe I forgot all about that!” He exclaimed. “It’s part of the reason why there’s an increase in customers around this time of the year!”

“Do you think it’s a good enough place for a first date?” Fran asked and RJ can easily imagine her twirling the coiled cord of her kitchen phone, a sign of her nervousness.

“I can’t imagine a better place,” RJ assured her sincerely. And really, he can’t. Despite Fran possibly telling him otherwise, the summer festival held on the pier is perfect.

“Do you wanna meet up there at eight?”

“We could meet here,” RJ offered. “Then walk together and not have to worry about parking.”

“That’s true,” Fran conceded. “Okay, see you Saturday night!”

“See you Saturday night, princess!” He chuckled when he heard her embarrassed groan before hanging up.

* * *

The pier was alive that night, bursting with activity as people roamed the boardwalk, enthralled with the sights, scents and sounds of the festival. A gorgeous sunset melting into night over the sparkling ocean water painted the backdrop of the evening.

RJ and Fran held hands as they wandered through the festival, having already ridden the rollercoaster and walked through the house of mirrors. “Oh, look RJ!” Fran nodded to a point five feet ahead of them. “A photo booth!”

“Let’s do it.”

The couple went inside, Fran sliding in three dollars to the money feeder while RJ perused the photo options. “Two three by fives or a strip of four two by fours?”

“The photo strip,” Fran decided. “That way we can strike more poses.”

“Good point,” RJ said, as he selected the option. “What do you wanna do first?”

“Classic smile?”

They did just that, RJ wrapping an arm around Fran’s shoulders as they beamed. It was followed by a mock menacing pose, a pair of silly faces, and kiss. Fran had intended to kiss RJ’s cheek but apparently RJ had the same idea and their lips met instead. He pulled away after a minute, grinning sheepishly. “Whoops.”

Fran shrugged; a grin on her own face. “Can’t say I’m complaining.”

He pecked her lips before stepping out of the booth. “Me either.”

RJ picked up the photo strip and laughed. “No offense, princess, but you’re too adorable to be scary.”

Fran stuck her tongue out. “Like you’re one to talk, babe?”

Her boyfriend looked at her in interest at her words. “Babe, not rogue?”

“You can be both.”

“Eh, you’re probably right about that.” RJ held out the photo strip for Fran to see. “Which photos do you want?”

“Which ones do _you_ want?”

“Ladies first.”

“It’s the twenty-first century, but okay.” Fran studied the proffered photos. “I’ll take the first one and the third one, if you’re okay with that.”

“I was hoping to keep the adorable monster one.”

Fran rolled her eyes but smiled anyway. RJ carefully tore the photos along the perforated edges and handed Fran her chosen pictures who slipped them into her purse. “Want to try some games?” He asked.

“Sure.”

They walked over to the section nearest to the water where the carnival games were set up. Prizes of all kinds hung from the roofs of the booths, mainly stuffed animals of various sizes. RJ strolled up to a booth that held empty milk bottles stacked in small pyramids. “Totally gonna win you something,” he cheerfully told his girlfriend.

“You don’t have to.”

“This isn’t about obligation,” RJ replied as he confidently plopped a five dollar bill onto the counter. “I want to do this.”

Fran blushed and smiled, pleased. “Okay.”

RJ picked up the first of four softballs that had been placed in front of him. He did a few mental calculations and threw the ball, striking the pyramid directly the center. The second pyramid fell just as the first one did.

“One more and you can get one of the large prizes,” a man named Johan who was running the booth encouraged RJ.

He eyed the prizes above him thoughtfully, gently tossing the third ball in his hand. “And if I knock down all four I can upgrade?”

“Of course,” Johan said. “But the final pyramid is tricky…more bottles to knock down.”

RJ smirked before turning to wink at Fran. “Watch this.”

Fran giggled. “I’m watching.”

He struck down the third pyramid with ease before turning his attention to the final pyramid. “Piece of cake.”

“Being cocky isn’t attractive.”

“I can win with grace,” RJ answered blithely as he threw the final ball. It flew true and the pyramid crumbled. “Bullseye!”

Fran applauded him. “That was awesome!” She watched as RJ pointed in the general direction of the largest stuffed animals and burst into giggles when he handed her a jumbo sized phoenix plush.

“Something comical about phoenixes?” RJ asked in slight confusion. “I thought you loved mythical creatures.”

“I do, I do,” Fran assured him as she buried her grin into her new toy, the smell of newly manufactured plush fabric filling her nose. “I was just thinking of this inside joke between Chip and me.” She peeked up at him and winked. “Maybe one day I’ll let you in on it.”

“I look forward to it.”

Stretching to her full height, Fran wrapped a hand around RJ’s neck and pulled him in for a short, sweet kiss. “Thank you for the phoenix.”

“You’re welcome.” As they walked away from the ball game, RJ asked. “What’re you going to name it?”

“Bowen,” Fran answered decisively with a silly grin on her lips and mischief in her eyes.

“Is that name part of the inside joke?”

“It is.” Fran looked down at the jumbo plush, its cuddly form overflowing from her arms. “Want me to win you a prize?”

“You don’t _have_ to.” RJ grinned and gently hip checked her.

“I know. But I want to.” Fran’s eyes roved the scene before them. “Ooh! Archery!”

RJ was surprised at that. “Wait…seriously?”

Fran led him over to the small archery set up. A large target sat about fifteen feet away from a short set of painted lines that represented the distance between the target and the archer. “Wow,” RJ said, impressed. “You weren’t kidding.”

“Chip taught me a few things,” Fran admitted. She held out Bowen the toy phoenix. “Hold him for me?”

RJ took on her burden. “Of course.” As Fran walked over to a young woman who was running the booth, he called out in encouragement. “You’ve got this, princess!”

Fran grinned and winked before turning back to accept the bow and set of five arrows held out to her.

“The closer you are to the center, the better the prize,” the young woman whose name tag read Monica instructed.

“Alright.”

Fran walked over to the line that dictated she was ten feet away from the target. She lifted the bow and knocked back the arrow, carefully lining up her shot. The arrow flew through the air and sank into the second ring from the center.

“Woo!” RJ cheered. “Awesome shot!”

Fran giggled as she rolled her shoulders and head, loosening up before taking her next shot. It sank into the center.

“Well done!” Monica praised, walking over to the set of prizes.

“May I try one more before making my selection?” Fran asked.

“You’ve already won our top prize,” Monica pointed out. “But I don’t see why not.”

“Thank you.” Fran stepped back to the line that was farthest from the target and lined up her final shot. She took a deep, steadying breath, focusing on the arrow in her hand, the target before her and nothing else. Fran released the arrow, watching as it flew true before burying itself into the center, barely missing the arrow that was already in the middle.

“Yeah!!!” RJ whooped as he rushed over to Fran, lifting her in his arms and spinning her. “I didn’t know you were a warrior too, my princess.”

“Hush,” Fran playfully chided, her face heating up at his effusive praise. “My cousin was a really good teacher, that’s all.”

“And it would appear that you were a really good student.”

“I suppose…” Fran quickly made her way over to the set of jumbo plushes to choose her prize for RJ. She stood there for a minute before snickering and selecting one of the options. She returned her bow and remaining arrows before she made her way back to her boyfriend whom was dusting off the toy phoenix he had abandoned to congratulate her.

The couple exchanged prizes. RJ examined his before he rolled his eyes and deadpanned, “Really?”

The plush Fran had selected for him was a sizeable husky dressed in a chef’s coat and hat, clutching a mixing bowl and whisk between its paws.

“Fitting, don’t you think?” Fran winked.

 _It’s almost a little too on the nose,_ RJ admitted privately. Out loud he replied, “This is gonna insult the cats.”

“They’ll probably turn it into a napping place.”

“True,” RJ conceded before looking at the toy husky again. At least the eyes weren’t green. “I’m gonna name you Francesco.”

Fran burst into laughter at that. “Oh gee, thanks rogue!”

RJ pecked her on the cheek. “Anything for you, babe.”

“Any chance we can head to the food trucks now?”

“Works for me,” RJ agreed. “I saw a pizza food truck not too far from here. Kinda wanna see how it compares.”

“I doubt it’ll compare at all,” Fran said. “Though you should totally consider getting a food truck.”

“I should.” He kissed her nose, eliciting a giggle. “And thank you for the faith in my pizza but maybe don’t go giving me an ego.”

Her eyes were wide in faux innocence. “Who, you? Get an ego? Never.”

“Let’s hope not,” he replied in jest.

* * *

The pair sat at a small table in the middle of the food truck section under an umbrella lined with fairy lights. “Ready to see how this pizza compares to yours?” Fran asked.

“Maybe you could try it first?”

Fran eyed him in slight concern. “Nervous?”

“A smidge,” RJ admitted.

“I’d say you’re being silly, but your nerves are valid.”

“Thanks, princess.”

Fran took a bite of her pizza and chewed carefully. Her eyes went wide after a few seconds before her face crumpled into the most repulsed expression RJ had ever seen on her. She frantically reached for a napkin before spitting the pizza into it and taking a large sip of her soda. “Gross!”

RJ smirked at her. “No need to be so theatric there, babe.”

Fran looked at him with a completely straight face. “RJ, I could taste the metallic tang of the can that the tomato sauce came from.”

Her boyfriend chuckled at that. “Aw, c’mon Fran. It can’t be that bad.”

“It was also ice cold.”

“Well, points off for that,” RJ conceded before taking a bite. He lasted about as long as Fran had before gagging into a napkin. “Oh wow…my taste buds are actually sad.”

“Told you.”

“Yeah…” RJ agreed after downing half of his soda. He shoved the rest of his slice away from him. “Ugh…think there’s a chance that the ice cream here is any good.”

“So long as that’s _actually_ cold, it has a head start.”

They agreed to get ice cream on top of funnel cakes and much to their relief; the dessert tastes much better than the sad attempt at pizza they had tried earlier.

“Salted caramel sauce goes great with strawberry ice cream!” Fran enthused.

“That does sound like a good flavor contrast, but nothing beats chocolate ice cream and peanut bu—hey!” RJ stared at his girlfriend with a look of mock outrage for she had stolen a spoonful of ice cream from his plate.

Fran merely smiled innocently around her spoon as she held out her own plate in truce.

“It’s only fair,” RJ stated without any heat as he took a spoonful of her own ice cream. He popped it into his mouth and nodded. “I was right, a good flavor contrast.”

“Definitely. Ferris wheel after we finish this?”

“Absolutely.”

* * *

Fran beamed as she took in the night sky, littered with glittering, winking stars. “It’s _gorgeous_ tonight!”

“Yeah, it definitely is,” RJ agreed.

She turned to look at him and blushed when she realized that his gaze wasn’t lingering on the sky. “Th-thank you.”

“Anytime.”

Their Ferris wheel cart had stopped at the top, a warm evening breeze ruffling their hair and adding to the serenity of the night. RJ wrapped an arm around Fran who leaned into his embrace, resting her head on his shoulder. “Tonight’s been so much fun,” she sighed.

“Any idea what you wanna do for our second date?”

Fran looked up at RJ. “Movies?”

“At the theater or a movie marathon at JKP?”

“Both sound good, both would have you.”

RJ hid his grin on top of Fran’s head. “There’s a drive-in theater not too far from here.”

Fran was surprised at that. “Wait, seriously?”

“You didn’t know?”

“No clue!”

“Oh well, now we _have_ to go.” RJ thought for a moment, remembering a fact about the drive in. “We can go on Tuesday. Tickets are four dollars on that day of the week.”

“Any chance we can do a double feature?”

“I’m game.”

“It’s a second date then.”

The sky exploded with color, effectively cutting off any response RJ may have had as fireworks shot through the air; popping, crackling and booming. Catherine wheels, peonies and brocade crowns shimmered and showered down over the wine dark water.

“Oh man, it’s so beautiful,” RJ murmured in awe.

“Absolutely,” Fran agreed. He glanced at her and was only a tiny bit surprised to see her looking at him instead of the fireworks display in front of him.

“Knew you were looking at me.” A blush spread across his face, expression pleased nonetheless.

“I had to return the favor.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

RJ pulled Fran into a kiss which she quickly deepened. The new couple soon became lost in their own fireworks as the sky continued to blaze and explode with color.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wooooo! They got together and had their first date!! What should happen next? Meeting some family members? Not Master Finn, not yet, obviously.
> 
> A few nods to Mystic Force can be found if you know where to look. In sticking with my headcanon that Fran and Chip are cousins, I feel like Chip would have taught Fran her way around a bow and arrow, since it’s his weapon of choice. Also no reason for her not to have made bullseye.
> 
> I’m thinking at least one more chapter of shenanigans and fun before we start heading into the relative canon of the show…before we take that and flip it onto its head entirely! Stay tuned readers and please review!


	7. A Shift in Balance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Holiday fluff, first meetings and a change that is on the horizon...

“Babe!” RJ yelled excitedly as he spotted his girlfriend enter the pizzeria. He was completely unaware of customers watching as he rushed over to the door and all but tackled Fran out of the restaurant.

“Oof,” Fran huffed as she received RJ’s enthusiastic embrace. “Hi RJ,” she giggled. “Did you miss me or something?”

“Or something,” RJ replied as he kissed her soundly. He smiled against her lips as he felt her lithe form press against him in her eagerness to return his kiss. He was about to deepen the kiss when the sound of applause, cheers and a couple of whistles had the pair pulling apart in shock. They stared at one another completely bewildered when reality slowly sank in and the source of the noise revealed itself.

RJ slowly turned around, sensing that Fran was peeking from behind him to see all of his customers cheering them on. A healthy flush of scarlet colored his cheeks as he cleared his throat, trying to keep his voice as nonchalant as possible as he spoke. “It appears we have an audience.”

“Well,” Fran began wryly. “We are in a restaurant which is a public place.” She lightly poked her boyfriend in the back. “That _you_ own.”

“Indeed I do,” RJ agreed as he reached back and entwined his fingers with hers. He gently tugged her along until she was walking beside him. He kept his hand in hers until they reached her stool at the counter, blithely ignoring the lingering looks of a few customers.

“How was Thanksgiving in Briarwood?”

“It was pretty fun!” Fran said as a fond grin crossed her face over the memories of the holiday weekend. She looked up at RJ through her eyelashes. “It would have been even more fun if you were there.”

RJ leaned over and kissed her cheek. “I’m still glad for the invitation but it wasn’t like I was alone.” RJ had a tradition of leaving his restaurant open for those who didn’t have families to go to for the holidays or those who couldn’t afford a holiday meal.

“You still could have let me help you out with that.”

“And deny you the chance to see your family?” He placed a hand against his chest, feigning an aghast expression. “Never.”

Fran shook her head before propping it against her hand. “You know they would have happily helped out.”

RJ took her free hand and squeezed it lightly. “Tell you what; you and your family can help out for Christmas.”

“Promise?”

He nodded. “I promise.”

“Okay,” Fran said, satisfied. She then gasped in slight surprise as she remembered the significance of the whole day.

Seeing her alarm, RJ became concerned. “What’s up, princess?”

“I can’t believe I almost forgot!” She reached down and placed a large paper bag on the counter between them. “Happy birthday!”

RJ chuckled. “Thank you.” He peered into the bag and smiled, blushing slightly as he started to pull out a beautiful bouquet of flowers, a variety of species in shades of blues and purples. He frowned as he realized that the flowers felt…heavier than they seemed.

“Um…” He slid his hands into the bag to grab what he assumed was a glass vase only to grow even more confused when he touched paper and felt the package give slightly under his touch.

Lifting the package out completely, RJ laughed in delight, seeing that Fran had carefully wedged the bouquet in between four small packages of flour, layers of tape binding everything together. “I see what you did there.” Not only did Fran give him a literal pun, something that the young man loved, she had also thoughtfully aided him with his supplies by giving him flour and not just all-purpose. There was a package of whole wheat, gluten free and—

“Is that banana flour?!”

“Mhm,” Fran hummed. “It’s pretty new to grocery shelves and has only the slightest hint of banana flavor. Otherwise it’s just this nutty taste.”

RJ gave her a swift kiss. “Thank you.”

Fran beamed. “You’re welcome. So how does it feel to be twenty-five?”

RJ shrugged. “Other than having a girlfriend; not that much different from being twenty-four.”

Said girlfriend giggled at his response. “I’m free tonight if you are.”

“I’m free too,” RJ said. He then sighed and his entire countenance betrayed his exhaustion. “But any chance we can do something here instead of going out?”

Fran tapped him on the nose as she lightly chided him. “You should’ve let me stay and help you out.” She thought for a moment. “Take out; movie marathon and a blanket fort sound good?”

RJ grinned. “I love that you know me so well, let’s do it.” He grew quiet, his countenance thoughtful for a moment as he came to a realization. “Actually,” he began softly. “I don’t just love that you know me so well…I love _you_.”

A small part of him felt terrified by the words that had just come from his mouth. They were such weighted, powerful words. Yet the rest of him felt free. He had done it, said what had been on his mind for so long. He loved Fran, so very much.

Fran beamed. Beamed and grinned, smiling so brilliantly, so beautifully. Her heart flooded with warmth and excitement. “I love you too.”

RJ went around the counter and pulled Fran to her feet, taking her into the kitchen. “Didn’t want an audience for this.” He admitted before pulling her into a sensual, breathtaking kiss.

Moments later when they pulled apart, RJ leaned his forehead against Fran’s. He said nothing, merely catching his breath, grinning like mad as he did so. Finally he spoke, “I uh…I should…should probably get ready to…to close up.”

“I’ll go set up the blanket fort,” Fran replied. “Want me to call Shanghai Dragon while I’m up there?”

RJ nodded. “Please.”

Reluctant to leave his embrace, Fran backed away slowly. “The usual?”

He squeezed her hands, trying to prolong contact. “Yep.”

Fran laughed and fell back into her boyfriend…her _love’s_ embrace. She squeezed him as she buried her face into his shoulder. “We’re such saps.”

“And yet we seem to love each other anyway.”

“Yeah,” Fran agreed with a happy sigh. “That we do.”

* * *

An hour and a half later, RJ bounded up the stairs to the loft, bag of take out in his hand. “Okay babe, I got—”

He paused as he took in the blanket fort Fran had created. It was an impressive structure. Four feet from the ground and nearly three feet wide, it was made of various cushions and chairs with blankets draped on top. RJ was intrigued when he noticed that she had even artfully arranged a couple of strings of fairy lights on top. “I see the princess has built herself a castle.”

“Only the best for my knight,” Fran shot back. She then grew a little sheepish. “I hope you don’t mind that I borrowed some of your Christmas lights.”

“The only thing I’m thinking is that _all_ blanket forts are required to have lights,” RJ said as he came over with the food. “And that you’ve saved me for having to search for them when I put them up in the restaurant next month.”

Glancing around, RJ asked, “Hey, where’re Smoky and Gouda? I feel like they would love the blanket fort.”

“They did at first,” Fran confirmed. “But they didn’t appreciate it when I accidentally dropped one of the bigger cushions when I was trying to construct the walls. I think they’re taking refuge somewhere near your bed.”

“Ah,” RJ nodded sagely. “Well, maybe they’ll come investigate later now that the blanket fort’s complete.”

“Maybe.”

Fran indicated a row of DVDs with a hand. “Your birthday, your choice,” she told him. “What do you want to watch?”

“Ratatouille?”

“There’s not a rat hiding under your hat when you cook is there?” Fran teased as she went to put the movie in the DVD player.

RJ’s voice was mock chiding. “You’ve seen me cook without my hat.”

“Without your chef’s coat too.” At her boyfriend’s sly smile, Fran looked at him sharply, hands on her hips. “I meant no innuendo, Mister.”

A chuckle only escaped him, hands held up innocently. “I didn’t say anything.”

“No, but it was all over your face.”

“My face and I apologize.”

Fran rolled her eyes and took her seat next to RJ, accepting the proffered container of steaming moo shu chicken. A small smile made its way onto her face when RJ kissed her cheek as a peace offering. She turned and pecked him on the lips before picking up her chopsticks and started eating.

Halfway through the film, RJ spoke. “You know, I actually kinda prefer Disney movies to some rom coms.”

Fran arched a brow at that. “Really?”

He shrugged. “Yeah. Sometimes their stories are just so much easier, y’know?”

“Musical numbers do help speed things along and the animation _is_ gorgeous.”

“Exactamundo!”

* * *

Two movies later found the couple lying side by side albeit with a snug fit within the blanket fort as Fran perused the movie selection. She was debating between Spider-Man and The Lion King when RJ’s laptop chimed from its spot on his work table.

“Mmmn,” RJ groaned. He pressed closer to Fran. “I don’t wanna get up,” he protested as the laptop chimed again. “I’m too comfortable.”

“It could be someone wishing you a happy birthday,” Fran pointed out.

“My phone works too,” RJ said. “Besides, the only one calling me on video chat would be my mom.”

Fran waited. There was a beat, then—

“Oh!” RJ shot up and carefully crawled out of the blanket fort. “It’s my mom!”

He hastily made his way over to the worktable, apologizing to the pair of sleeping cats that he had to hop over and snatched up his laptop. He was in the process of lifting the lid when he noticed Fran crawling out of the blanket fort. “Bathroom break?”

“Thought I’d head home,” she answered with a smile. “To give you all the time you need with your mom.”

“Uh-uh! I don’t want you to leave.”

“I don’t mind.” Fran glanced at her watch. “Besides, it’s almost midnight and I _do_ have class in the morning.”

RJ frowned, knowing at eventually Fran would have to go home but he still wasn’t quite ready to say goodbye to her. “At least say hi?” He cajoled as the laptop continued to chime.

“Didn’t you once say your mom lives in New Hampshire? It’s gotta be like, three in the morning there!”

“Eh, she keeps odd hours,” RJ said. He became smug as he added, “Plus, I’m sure she’d say I’m worth it.”

Fran wavered for a moment before shyly making her way over. “ _You_ say hi first.”

“Can do.” RJ lifted the lid of the laptop completely and accepted the video call. “Hi, Mom!”

Vanessa Scott, formerly James, beamed as her son greeted her. “Happy birthday honey!” She trilled. “How’s my boy been?”

“Been doing pretty great,” RJ replied. “Actually…” His smile grew and he winked at someone from off camera. “There’s someone I want you to meet.”

“Oh please tell me it’s Fran.” The squeak mother and son heard confirmed Vanessa’s hopes and she chuckled slightly at the sound. A minute later a brunette shyly appeared by RJ’s side, giggling out a hello. “Oh you are _cute!”_

Fran blushed hard at the praise, straightening her glasses more out of a need to do something than a necessity. “Thank you, ma’am.”

“Please, call me Vanessa.”

Fran hesitated for a few seconds. “Alright…Vanessa. How have you been? RJ tells me that you’re an environmental attorney. That sounds exciting.”

“It can be pretty gratifying,” Vanessa agreed with a nod. She then smiled wryly. “Dealing with exceptionally stubborn corporate asses who want to build on protected lands? Not so much.”

Fran giggled and turned to RJ. “I can see where you get your sass.”

“Probably,” RJ shrugged.

“It’s one of many qualities my son inherited from me,” Vanessa said as she winked. “Now Fran, RJ tells me you’re studying to become a librarian?”

“That’s right,” Fran confirmed. “I want to utilize my degree to not simply sit behind a computer and show patrons where to go or what books would best suit them to their needs; I want to engage with children and help spark a love of reading, to help those with struggles like dyslexia or ADHD learn to read. I know I could do this as a teacher, but as a librarian, I would be providing those services to anyone who can’t afford to go to school or hire a tutor. The library is a safe haven to so many people and I want to be a part of those who help create it to be a safe space.”

“Hmm…” Vanessa mused before shifting her gaze to her son briefly before looking back at Fran. “So you’re intelligent, compassionate, have strong values, an amazing cook according to RJ and you’re very pretty. I think I can see how you stole my son’s heart.”

Fran blushed fiercely and giggled helplessly for a minute. “Trust me ma’am,” She began when she regained her voice. “It was a mutual theft.”

Vanessa was only half serious when she posed her next question for her son. “RJ, why isn’t there a ring on this girl’s finger?”

RJ spluttered and choked as he turned red. “Mo- _om_!” He protested loudly. “Fran and I have only been dating for four months! Th-there’s plenty of time!”

“He hasn’t even met _my_ mom,” Fran pointed out, trying to give RJ a minute to recover his wits.

“Yeah,” RJ wheezed.

“All in good time, I suppose,” Vanessa conceded. “And I suppose I can stop with the motherly teasing. That’s all you’d need for your birthday, sweetheart: a heart attack.”

“Yeah, I would like to avoid that.”

“Speaking of avoiding things,” Fran interjected in a slightly awkward tone. “I really should be getting home.”

“Right,” RJ said then explained to his mother. “She has class in the morning.”

“And you’re keeping her up?” Vanessa asked. “Robert James, I thought I taught you better than that.”

“Oh please don’t get upset with him, Vanessa,” Fran spoke up. “RJ was just eager for me to have this opportunity to meet you. Besides, I’m often a night owl so if it wasn’t for this conversation, I’m sure I would be deep into the pages of a book at home.”

RJ shot his mother his most charming smile. “Fran is right about that. All of it.”

Vanessa chuckled. “Very well. Fran, does RJ walk you home or have you driven to Jungle Karma?”

“I have my car in the parking lot.”

“RJ, walk your girlfriend out and then call me back alright?”

RJ chuckled at being bossed around by his mother. “Yes, Mom.”

“It was a pleasure to meet you, Vanessa,” Fran said as she started to slip out of view.

“Dear, the pleasure was all mine,” Vanessa assured her. She smiled when her son blew her a kiss before disconnecting the video call. Alone in her apartment in New Hampshire, Vanessa said to herself, “Well, if they aren’t engaged within the year, I’ll be very surprised.”

She then leaned back in her office chair, patiently waiting for her son to call her back. She steeled herself as she prepared to bring up a challenging topic to discuss with RJ.

* * *

“Oh!” Fran breathed as she looked up at the night sky. “Look at all of the stars!”

RJ grinned as he too, looked up. The heavens above them were littered with a seemingly endless amount of stars that glittered and winked at those who sought them out. “It is pretty great.”

Fran pointed to a patch of stars to the northwest. “There’s the big dipper!”

“You know that’s like the only constellation I can recognize?”

“Same,” Fran admitted. “I try to find Orion’s belt or Gemini but it’s harder than it looks.”

“I guess we’d need a proper star chart or something.” RJ grinned teasingly and nudged his girlfriend. “I’m surprised you don’t have one of those.”

“My mom might,” Fran mused. “I’ll have to dig around my apartment and see.”

“Speaking of moms,” RJ said. “I’m sorry if my mom embarrassed you back there.”

“What? With the teasing about marriage?” Fran giggled and rolled her eyes. “RJ, all moms nag about stuff like that. Your mom is no different. I’d like to claim that my mom would at least be more subtle but that’s probably giving her too much credit.”

“My mom is right about one thing,” RJ said as he stepped closer to Fran. He took her hand in his and placed it over his heart holding it there. “You totally stole this.”

Fran grinned widely. “And as I told your mother, it was a mutual theft.”

RJ closed the gap between them, kissing her sweetly. He cupped her face before sliding his fingers through her hair, loosening the pigtails her hair was bound in so he had more freedom to tangle the tresses around his fingers. Fran wrapped her arms around his torso, pulling him closer, deepening the kiss as they moved.

“I love you,” RJ whispered as they parted.

“I love you too.”

They kissed again. “Will you have time to stop by tomorrow?”

Fran nodded. “I have class but I’m free after five.”

RJ pressed a soft, lingering kiss on her hand. “See you then, princess.”

She giggled. “Parting is such sweet sorrow, dear rogue.”

“At least it’s guaranteed that you and I will see the morrow.”

Fran rolled her eyes and snorted as she finally walked over to her car. “Good night, RJ! Now go call your mom!”

RJ bowed theatrically as he backed toward the restaurant front entrance. “Your wish is my command.”

He grinned at Fran’s groan.

* * *

RJ plopped down into his recliner, laptop in hand as he awaited his video call with his mother to connect. As soon as he locked onto the sea green eyes that he had inherited from her, RJ made his face stern and shook his finger at her. “Bringing up marriage, Mom? Really?”

Vanessa snorted. “RJ, my love, you know that it’s practically in the motherhood handbook to start mentioning getting married when her child is in a long term relationship.”

“It’s been only four months since Fran and I started dating and I _just_ turned twenty-five. She’s twenty-three. I’d like to believe that we have time.”

“Plenty of time, RJ,” Vanessa assured her son. “Just a mother’s teasing is all.”

“Well ha ha.”

“All of this aside, my son. That’s not why I asked you to call me back.”

Noting her serious expression and slightly sharp tone, RJ sobered. “So what did you want to discuss?”

“How open is your relationship with Fran?”

RJ’s eyes narrowed in confusion, his own voice becoming hard. “Meaning?”

“Your past, RJ,” Vanessa elaborated. “Your _schooling?_ ”

At that, RJ winced. “Well…she knows I went to a boarding school.”

“I suppose that’s one way of putting it.”

“I told Fran that I attended this old, prestigious academy that was…” RJ flailed as he tried to remember the conversation he and Fran had the night of the storm. “Steeped in tradition…and went back hundreds of years.”

“All true,” Vanessa conceded. “And?”

“And…it’s the reason why Dad and I aren’t talking anymore?”

Vanessa arched a brow. “Oh? What were the specifics on that?”

RJ lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “Just that Dad and I didn’t see eye to eye on my life path…”

“Also true. But what about the rest of it?”

“Pai Zhuq? Does Fran really need to know?”

“Darling, _I_ know,” Vanessa deadpanned. She then softened. “And at the time, it did my relationship with your father a world of good when he explained everything to me. And that was _before_ you came along. So why not let Fran into your world completely?”

RJ sighed heavily. “Because as awesome as that would be, there’s still the underlying concern of Dai Shi somehow busting out of that box he’s been trapped in for millennia. I don’t want Fran to be caught in the crossfire of anything terrible.”

“Fran seems like an intelligent and sensible woman,” Vanessa pointed out, her son nodding in agreement. “Just because she has the knowledge of Pai Zhuq and Dai Shi, it doesn’t mean that anything horrible will happen to her. Last I remember your father discussing the evil entity with me, omniscient, he was not. I don’t think he’ll immediately know that Fran knows.”

“Or that you know.”

“Or that I know.”

RJ rubbed a hand across his face as he mulled through his options. “Just because Fran knows, it doesn’t mean that she automatically has to join the fight…or will be expected to.”

“We’re talking hypotheticals in any case,” Vanessa said blithely. “You should still tell her.”

RJ said nothing, clearly thinking about what his mother was saying and how to eventually tell Fran; if he even did.

“I’ll think about it,” Was all he offered his mother.

“I suppose I’ll take it,” Vanessa replied, however her tone told him that she wasn’t thrilled with his answer.

He clapped a hand over his mouth as a yawn escaped. “Talk to you on Christmas?”

“Sure thing, honey.”

RJ grinned at that. “Night, Mom.”

“Goodnight, RJ.”

* * *

Nearly a month after RJ’s birthday found Fran and RJ lugged bags of groceries from RJ’s jeep toward Fran’s apartment building. The bags were full of ingredients necessary for making Christmas cookies. The holiday was around the corner and the couple decided to prepare by baking in Fran’s apartment.

“I barely get to hang out there,” RJ had pouted to his girlfriend.

Fran smirked. “I just don’t want to part you from your beloved chair is all.”

“Your furniture is plenty comfortable.” Shifting the bags of groceries into one hand, RJ pointed at her accusingly. “And as if you don’t sit in my chair!”

“Only after being afraid to for weeks!”

RJ smiled bashfully. “I suppose I can be a bit…exuberant when it comes to my chair.”

“Just a bit.”

When the two crossed through the lobby and stopped in front of the elevators, RJ decided to glance around as they waited for the elevator to carry them to Fran’s ninth floor apartment. He took in the Christmas tree cheerfully decorated and glowing in one corner and the menorah that was sat not too far away. The shiny candelabra wouldn’t be lit until that night, the first night of Hanukkah. Paper snowflakes and colorful lights decorated the lobby’s walls.

As RJ continued to silently explore the lobby, he found himself freezing when he came across a small plant hanging inconspicuously above his and Fran’s heads.

When he finally found his voice, it was dry as he asked aloud, “Really?”

Fran blinked in surprise at RJ’s sudden question. Turning to follow his gaze, she snorted when she saw the mistletoe. “You do realize it’s not exactly against the law if we don’t follow through, right?”

“Just seems like a societal trap for those who aren’t in a relationship,” RJ said as he carefully placed his grocery bags on the floor before freeing Fran of hers. He slid his hands onto her waist. “You on the other hand, I don’t mind being trapped with.”

Fran snorted at that as she wrapped her arms around RJ’s neck and pulled him down into a kiss. As she threaded her fingers through his hair, one of RJ’s hands smoothed up her back while the other one slid down to her hip, holding her firmly to him as they lost themselves in the moment.

However much like RJ’s birthday, the two were abruptly shocked away from each other. This time by the sound of an aggravated and rather pointed clearing of the throat.

“A- _hem!”_

Pulling away, the couple turned to face another young couple. A young man with vibrant red hair looking rather livid while his counterpart, a young woman with a shock of bubblegum pink hair appeared to be utterly delighted.

Fran, for her part, recognized them immediately. “V!” She squealed as she all but pounced on the young woman. “What’re you doing here? I thought you and Chip weren’t going to be here until next week!”

V, otherwise known as Vida Rocca, hugged Fran with equal strength. “Meh, you know that winter vacation is long when in college, Frannie,” she said. “Chip and I decided to come down early to surprise you.” Smirking over Fran’s shoulder at RJ, she continued. “Though apparently _you_ have a surprise for us as well.”

Blushing, Fran pulled away from her friend. “You know who RJ is, I’ve told you about him.”

“Um…ah,” RJ began awkwardly. “Have you mentioned that we’re dating? Specifically…have you told your cousin?”

“Oh she’s told me,” Chip confirmed in a tone that suggested to RJ that he wasn’t all that thrilled with the notion.

Fran rolled her eyes as Vida swatted at Chip. “Alright, you two. Before either of you decide to have some sort of ‘battle of masculinity’, can we at least take it upstairs?”

“Sounds good to me!” RJ chimed in, not caring that he seemed all too eager to escape the awkwardness of the moment as he whipped around and punched the elevator button.

With his back turned to Fran and the newcomers, RJ failed to notice his girlfriend pulling her cousin into a hug and the whispered conversation that followed.

“Must you be the stereotypical overprotective family member?” Fran chided Chip softly.

Chip grinned widely even though Fran was unable to see it. “You should know Frannie, both Nick and Xander were all over doing this bit but weren’t able to because of Toby needing the holiday help.”

Fran leaned back, eyes wide in surprise. “Okay, Xander doing that, I can see. But _Nick_?”

Vida playfully ruffled Fran’s hair. “Honey, you’re as much family to him as the rest of us are, even if he isn’t too open in showing it. Clare says you’re family too and she misses you.”

Fran smiled bashfully at that. “I suppose I can come back to Briarwood at some point in the near future.” She walked over to join her boyfriend in the elevator, Vida and Chip following. As she took a couple of grocery bags from RJ, Fran addressed her friends, “How did you two manage to get out of working this close to the holiday? Especially you, V. Doesn’t Toby need you for the turntables?”

“I’ve been teaching Maddie,” Vida assured Fran. “As for us getting out of work early, Chip and I had been pulling extra shifts so we could accumulate the time off.”

“Not to mention the favor he owed us,” Chip put in as the group exited the elevator and walked the short distance to Fran’s apartment.

His cousin eyed him in interest as she fit her key into the lock. “Favor?”

Chip grinned. “Toby’s going full out Christmas dork and planning on proposing to Nicki on Christmas Day. V and I helped him pick out the ring.”

“Aww…” Fran cooed as she opened the door and ushered the others inside. “That’s so cute!” She then became thoughtful as she mused. “I wonder if Nicki’s going to kill him for being so over the top though.”

“Nicki might not,” Vida said. “Leelee on the other hand…”

“Leelee?” RJ asked, sensing some tension as the other woman’s name was mentioned.

“Nicki’s daughter,” Vida explained. “But not for getting Toby as a potential stepfather but just for the whole proposal on Christmas bit.”

“Which is another reason why the others are still in Briarwood,” Chip said, smirking. “Potential damage control.”

Fran snorted and shook her head, walking over to the island in her kitchen and dumping the groceries onto it. “I think everything will work out for itself.”

“Me too,” RJ agreed, placing his own grocery bags onto the island. “Even if I don’t know the full story.”

“It is quite a page turner,” Vida said as she started helping the couple unpack the groceries. She looked at RJ and smirked. “Maybe we’ll tell you about it one day.”

“I look forward to hearing it.”

Fran bustled about her kitchen, putting away groceries that didn’t involve baking cookies while putting out the ingredients that _were_ meant for baking cookies. As she plopped down a jar of molasses used for gingerbread, Fran glanced up and saw Chip eyeing RJ with a pensive look on his face. Rolling her own eyes, Fran made her way over to her cousin.

“Go and get it out of your system,” She instructed him quietly, rolling her eyes again when Chip looked back at her with an innocent look on his face. “’Interrogate’ my boyfriend if you must. But be. _Nice._ ”

Chip crossed his heart and grinned before making his way over to RJ. “If I can have a word?” He asked the man quietly, RJ silently put down a bottle of sprinkles and followed him out of the room.

The two men walked into the living room, standing near a pair of bookshelves that were just far away enough from the kitchen that they could talk to one another without the need to whisper. “My intentions with your cousin are to be with her for as long as she wants me to be,” RJ stated without preamble. His voice became more passionate as he added, “I love her deeply and I would never even dream of hurting her.”

Fran’s laughter rang out and the two men looked into the kitchen, seeing that Vida had playfully flung some flour at Fran, the white powder clinging to her hair and cheek. Fran retaliated by tossing powdered sugar at her friend. “She’s my world,” RJ said quietly.

Seeing the complete adoration in RJ’s eyes for his cousin, Chip crossed his arms and pretended to look stern. “You know, you’re making it very hard for me not to like you. I had this whole speech planned about what I’d do if you hurt her and I know of at least five others who would back me up, my own girlfriend included.”

“You don’t need to give that speech,” RJ told him. “I would never, ever hurt Fran. Unless I was like, possessed or something,” he added after a beat. “But that’ll never happen.”

Chip merely smiled wryly, saying nothing. _Never say never,_ he thought to himself.

After all, once a Ranger…

Well, one could never be too careful, could they?

Not that RJ needed to know. Not yet in any case.

Chip clapped a hand on RJ’s shoulder. “C’mon, we should probably help the girls out.”

Nodding, RJ followed the other man back into the kitchen. When they arrived, Fran gleefully held up a small clear bucket that held cookie cutters. “I’ve got Star Wars cutters!”

Chip gasped theatrically as he all but smothered Fran in a hug. “I always knew you were my favorite cousin!”

Fran snorted and wiggled out of his embrace, passing the cookie cutters to an amused Vida. “You’d say that to any family member that gifts you something that appeals to your interests.”

“Like you don’t?” Chip shot back.

Fran shrugged. “I tell my mom she’s my favorite mom.” She stuck her tongue out at her boyfriend as he snickered.

An hour and a small food fight later, the group had a decent amount of prettily decorated cookies. Vida picked up a cookie shaped like Emperor Palpatine and bit the cookie’s head off. “The most satisfying decapitation ever,” she hummed through her full mouth.

“Think we have time to make a gingerbread house?” Fran asked. She turned to Vida and Chip. “Unless you two need to get going?”

“Nope,” Vida replied.

Chip grimaced. “But gingerbread houses are a pain to put together.”

His cousin smirked mischievously. “Not unless you cheat.”

RJ looked intrigued. “Cheat at making a gingerbread house? How? With a premade gingerbread house?”

“Nope,” Fran answered him with a shake of her head. “With a delicious shortcut to how we most likely made gingerbread houses in elementary school. Instead of using a milk carton as a foundation, we’ll be using sheet cake cut into quarters and stack them together. Then we’ll build the house around that.”

“That’s genius!” Vida enthused.

“And a bit more time consuming,” Fran admitted. “I don’t exactly have a sheet cake lying around.”

“I don’t have a problem with making one,” RJ said.

“Me either,” Chip offered.

“And while that’s in the oven,” Vida began in a coy voice that no one else in the room trusted. She whipped out a familiar deck of cards that had everyone groaning. “We can play Uno!”

“You just got here and you’re already declaring war?” RJ demanded with a frown.

“Scared to have your ass kicked by a woman?”

“Hardly,” he snorted.

“At least it’s not monopoly,” Fran pointed out and RJ chuckled at a shared memory.

“Stay up too long playing the game?” Chip asked.

“Until…when?” RJ asked Fran. “Super late. Like, two in the morning or something.”

“Thank goodness that was at least after finals week.” And Chip shook his head in amusement.

“Are we making this gingerbread house or what?” Vida demanded, planting her hands on her hips.

“Because the faster everything’s in the oven the faster we can play Uno?” Fran asked.

“Exactly!”

Laughing, the group began gathering ingredients and tools needed to make the gingerbread house with a sheet cake foundation. It wasn’t long before they were embroiled in a fierce and intense game of Uno while sat around the table. Chip and Vida had threatened to break up twice while RJ threatened to ban Fran from JKP—though not his loft above it. Fran in return threatened to never bake him any sort of treat again.

He had very nearly thrown the game after that.

* * *

Fran yawned hugely as she parked her car in its space within her apartment building’s garage. Christmas Day at Jungle Karma had gone off without a hitch. She, RJ and her friends from Briarwood—yes, all five of them—had spent the day catering to those who had no real place to go for the holiday for one reason or another. RJ had been both surprised and delighted to see that the crowd today had been much larger than the one had been at Thanksgiving. To adjust for overflow, the group had wound up building a makeshift lean-to right beside the pizzeria and catered to guests outside. All in all, it had been a very satisfying and gratifying day.

As she stepped out of the car, Fran smiled softly as she reached up and touched a small, golden and glittery pendant shaped like the sun that had been one of her gifts from RJ. They had exchanged gifts a few hours before the others were due to arrive. RJ had smiled shyly when she had unwrapped the box that held the pendant and opened it. “I got it because you remind me of sunshine,” he had told her.

As if Fran couldn’t fall any harder for the man who had already stolen her heart.

Once Fran entered her building, she debated on whether or not she should go to the mail room and see if she had any mail. Yes, it was Christmas which typically meant that the mail wouldn’t be delivered, but Fran had been rather neglectful of the task as of late due to the chaos that was finals week and the holiday season.

With a sigh, Fran made up her mind and headed to the mail room. She opened her mailbox and pulled out a couple of bills, several advertisements and holiday cards. She was surprised to see that she had a slip informing her of a package delivery. With the slip in hand, she made her way over to the doorman. After cheerfully wishing him a Merry Christmas, Fran exchanged the package slip for a small box. Glancing down at the box, Fran’s heart skipped a beat when she saw that the address label had been written in her mother’s handwriting.

“Mama…” Fran whispered as she gently traced the label with one finger.

Quickly thanking her doorman for the package, Fran sped down the length of the lobby to the elevator and jabbed the button. Stepping into the elevator, Fran began picking at the tape that bound the small cardboard box. She knew she should probably wait until she was inside her actual apartment to open it, but her mother often taped packages with several layers and Fran was exhausted. She didn’t want to have to fight with the box for long.

Once inside her apartment, Fran succeeded in opening the box. In it was a note from her mother along with a small burlap bag. She picked up the note first. _My darling Fran,_ it read. _I miss you very much and I hope you’re doing well; **not** stretching yourself too thin between school and work…? I also hope that your boyfriend (A boyfriend! My baby has a boyfriend!!) is doing well and that the relationship you have is healthy. I was walking in a bazaar during a trip to Morocco when I happened upon this gift that I have enclosed for you. It’s a bit sparklier than anything you’re used to, but just something about it compelled me to buy it for you. I hope you find the answers that I couldn’t find. Merry Christmas my love. We’ll speak soon. Love, Mom. _

Confused, Fran frowned down at her mother’s rather strange message. Granted, Claudia Rossi was a fan of mystery and the unknown…but something to have compelled her to buy a mysterious gift for her daughter? And from what it sounded like, send her daughter on what? A quest? Okay…

Dropping the note onto the little table near the door where Fran kept her keys and small books that she could easily slip into her bag on the way out, Fran lifted the burlap bag out of the box and opened it. She felt even more confused as she pulled out a crystal bauble on a silver chain. Indeed, the pendant was sparklier than what Fran’s taste called for; it also had an etching on one side of the yin yang symbol.

“Balance…” Fran murmured to herself. She reached out and traced the piece, noting that it wasn’t perfectly spherical, rather it had strategic cuts in it as if it were actually a puzzle piece. And of course, Fran had only one part.

Fran sighed and shook her head at the weirdness of it all. Yet, she couldn’t find it in herself to merely consign the odd looking piece of jewelry to a box, instead she looped the chain over her head so that it rested next to RJ’s pendant.

If it so happened to feel warmer against her skin than the sun pendant, Fran gave no reaction to it.

* * *

As Fran pondered over her mother’s gift to her, RJ shifted and tossed on his bed as he fell deeper into a well-deserved sleep. A dream began to open up to him and RJ found himself within the misty and mysterious school grounds of the Order of the Claw. _I swear,_ he thought to himself heatedly. _If this is Dad’s way of trying to contact me, I’m gonna—_

“You have done very well for yourself outside of these walls, RJ.”

Realizing that the voice behind him didn’t actually belong to his father had RJ spinning around in relief. “Master Mao,” RJ greeted reverently, bowing deeply to one of his former teachers.

“I have come to you with a great need for your assistance.”

Unbidden, the memory of his conversation with his mother on his birthday came back to him. He hid it away with a polite smile that betrayed his curiosity. “Oh?”

“Indeed, young Master,” Master Mao said. “For a great battle is on the horizon and it will fall to you to train the warriors needed for the fight.”

RJ blinked, incredulous. “Me?”

“You, Robert James. You are the one these students will need to guide them.”

“Why not you?”

Master Mao stared beyond RJ, into the misty distance. “I fear I am not much longer for this mortal realm and as such, I will only be present for the event that is the catalyst to this battle.”

“I see…” RJ was pensive before asking, even though he knew the obvious answer. He had to hear it from Master Mao. “And what exactly _is_ this great battle?”

Master Mao’s gaze was grave as it bored into RJ. “The return of Dai Shi,” the elder master said. “It is imminent.”

Great.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wooooo! A lot to unpack here! Fluff, romance and first familial meetings/mentions! Fran’s being inadvertently set on a very mysterious path by her mother but worry not! It won’t hinder her loved ones in anyway, but not something that’ll reveal itself immediately. There’s still time.
> 
> This chapter’s the longest one thus far and as tempted as I was to expand on Christmas at JKP and have RJ interact with Maddie, Nick and Xander, I realized that this chapter was getting long enough without really touching on the main part of the series. But I’ll probably either make a chapter of Of Scoops, Slices and Sunsets for it or a standalone one-shot for it. We’ll see.
> 
> Guys, I am beat. Work is long and hard, but I love it. I just don’t love being so tired afterward! That being said, I am hoping to get the next chapter up by Thanksgiving in which yes. RJ will finally tell Fran everything! Yeah! Should be an interesting conversation to say the least!  
> As always, reviews encourage and inspire me, so please keep them coming!


	8. A Shift in Balance II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> RJ and Fran have a very long and informed talk about RJ's past.

RJ sighed heavily as he struggled to meditate. Meditation, which was almost reflexive to him, suddenly needed his most intense concentration. He couldn’t focus, couldn’t calm his mind which was going over a hundred miles an hour. Two days ago he had been informed by his former teacher that one of the greatest evils in the known world was going to escape from his prison and attempt to wreak havoc on humanity once again.

That was one of the things that didn’t quite make sense. Dai Shi had been imprisoned for _millennia_. Why now, all of a sudden, would he break free? Did the enchanted box he was trapped in come with an expiration date? And if so, _why_ couldn’t it expire in another several centuries now so it wouldn’t be RJ’s problem?

He exhaled sharply through his nose. Mentally whining wasn’t going to solve any of his issues. Master Mao never lied. Dai Shi was coming. He was rising and RJ was charged with training the new warriors meant to take the evil entity down. One of the other things that RJ didn’t like about this was knowing that Master Mao was supposed to be some sort of catalyst to Dai Shi being set free. The question was: how? There was no way that his former teacher was going to open the box himself—he wasn’t insane or evil himself. What, was he going to set up some sort of series of events somehow forcing some hapless student to open the box?

RJ rolled his eyes. That made way too much sense and was exactly in line with Fran’s type of thinking if he was going to be honest with himself.

His heart clenched. Fran…

A terrible storm was brewing and it petrified RJ to know that his girlfriend might be swept into the chaos of it all.

What was he supposed to do? Breaking up with her was out of the question. It would cause too much heartache for the both of them when their relationship was healthy and strong. RJ couldn’t imagine not having Fran in his life and if he broke up with her then what reason would she have for walking into Jungle Karma? Yes, he knew she was a very loyal customer—with hefty discounts because he wasn’t about to charge his best friend and love full price, bad business practice be damned—but Fran most likely wouldn’t even _want_ to walk into the place where her ex-boyfriend lived and worked.

RJ doubled over, his hand practically clawing at his chest, his breathing coming out in heavy gasps as he thought of possibly losing Fran. He would if they broke up pointlessly, he knew he would if he kept the truth from her and she inevitably found out about Dai Shi and Pai Zhuq. But to tell her and quite possibly put her life in jeopardy…

Ugh. He was damned if he did and damned if he didn’t.

His mother’s words floated through his memory, telling him that her relationship with his father had been made stronger when he had told her everything about his world. Well, until her father had become too much for her to handle; but that had nothing to do with the mysticism and dangers of the Order of the Claw. His mother also had faith in Fran. She believed that RJ’s girlfriend would be clever and strong enough to take the upcoming battle with as much grace and courage as she could muster. RJ believed it too. He just didn’t want to put any type of burden on her.

In the back of RJ’s mind, another consciousness awoke, curling reassuringly around his own. The wolf spirit that RJ was bonded to stretched languidly, almost humming as he awoke. _Your mother is right you know,_ the wolf spirit—and RJ _really_ needed to give him a name—informed him _. I’ve been observing Francesca from time to time and I know how strong and clever she is. She is good for you, cub. She balances you out and will be just what you need as you step onto the battlefield._

 _She goes by Fran,_ RJ corrected him almost reflexively. After all, Fran loved being called Francesca almost as much as RJ liked being called Robert. _And I know she’s strong and smart and just…amazing. But what if Dai Shi manages to learn that she exists and that she’s connected to me? He will **hurt** her. _RJ pressed his lips together almost painfully against the wave of panic he fought to quell at the thought.

He felt the wolf spirit settle down within his mind, easily picturing a violet tinged wolf lying on its stomach, watching him with placid golden eyes _. As your mother pointed out, Dai Shi is **not** omniscient. Yes, he will most likely have spies under his command, that shadow dancer Camille being one of the best. But, so long as Fran is forewarned, I can see her being astute enough not to fall into his grasp. She will be fine, she will be safe. You run a pizza place and last I checked there wasn’t any sort of neon sign, physical or spiritual that would inform evil of a Pai Zhuq master dwelling there._

RJ’s snorted at his wolf spirit’s words. Okay, perhaps he and RJ’s mother had a point about Fran being resilient enough to take what RJ had to tell her in stride. It didn’t make him any less nervous about Dai Shi being back and with Fran having any sort of potential of being in the crossfire. Yet RJ knew he could never keep such heavy information from her. Not in the long run.

Sighing heavily, RJ threw himself back onto his bed. He would tell Fran everything, bringing her into his world completely. Yes, he would offer her an exit and it would be something that he hoped beyond hope that she wouldn’t take even if he respected her decision. But this would all happen later.

After a nap.

* * *

Fran growled low in her throat as her phone rang, rudely interrupting her reading. She was sentences away from the climax and she wanted to know what happened next, darn it! When Fran glanced at the display and saw that her supervisor from the library was calling, her ire dissipated instantly. She flipped open her phone and cheerfully said, “Good morning, Danielle!”

“Hey, Fran.” Fran instantly became concerned at her boss’s subdued tone. “Uh oh,” she said. “What happened? Teens being too rowdy again? I know they have midterms coming up and this tends to be when the pressure starts to boil over.”

Danielle managed a chuckle at that. “True, very true Fran. But that’s not why I’m calling.”

Fear instantly pooled into Fran’s stomach as her mind raced, pulling up any and all mistakes she could have made while working there. She attempted to feign levity in her tone. “Oh?”

“The library is about to undergo some extensive and expensive renovations,” Danielle explained. “I’m afraid we’re shutting our doors for a long while and we’re all being furloughed for the time being.”

Fran gasped at that. “Oh no!”

“I am so sorry I’m the one who had to tell you this, Fran,” Danielle lamented sincerely.

“Never mind me,” Fran replied instantly. After all, her mother owned the apartment so she didn’t have to worry about rent and she was careful enough with her savings that she would be able to cover the utilities bills and her groceries for at least a few months. “But what about the people who rely on the library’s resources and support? Where will they go?”

“We have a list of other nearby libraries and bookstores willing to help our patrons. I even have a recommendation ready to go for you along with your final paycheck if you’re able to come pick it up some time today.”

“I have a meeting with my guidance counselor in a half hour,” Fran said. “But I’ll come immediately after.”

“Great!” Danielle enthused. “I’ll see you soon.”

“You sure will!” Fran answered, wondering if her now former boss could hear the false smile in her voice. “Bye!”

Fran snapped her phone closed as soon as Danielle bid her farewell. She bit her lip against a sudden rise of tears in her eyes as her heart sank at the thought of no longer working for her beloved library. She didn’t have her TA position at her college to fall back on because she knew that her coursework would be heavier in the coming semester and the library would provide better experience for her to utilize once she attained her degree.

She sighed heavily before shaking her head and tossed her phone into her backpack. Lamenting would get her nowhere in the end and she had to get to campus. At least she had RJ she could talk to. He always knew how to put a smile on her face, even without a single word.

At the thought of her beloved, Fran reached up and gripped the sun-shaped pendant he had given her, gently brushing against the mysterious pendant from her mother as she did so. RJ had told her that she reminded him of sunshine, but that sentiment went two ways for he never failed to pull her mood out of the clouds. With that notion in mind, Fran had pep in her step as she swung her backpack over her shoulder and left her apartment, heading for her afternoon meeting.

Her visit to JKP could not come fast enough.

* * *

RJ wasn’t being a very attentive entrepreneur. He was barely taking down orders let alone bringing customers the _correct_ orders. His gaze kept flicking toward the door, waiting for Fran to walk through it. Waiting for him to dump the story of his past in its entirety on her shoulders. Praying that she wasn’t going to dump _him_ for holding things back.

 _Breathe, cub,_ his wolf spirit lightly chided him. _Everything will be fine._

 _You know, I might be Mr.-Look-At-The-Silver-Lining,_ RJ replied _. But something keeps telling me things **won’t** be so fine._

_Only one way to find out…_

RJ’s heart leaped into his throat as he turned to see Fran walking into Jungle Karma, a smile appearing on her face as soon as her eyes found his. His arms automatically opened for her to sink into and she did so with a long suffering sigh. He frowned at her sudden change in countenance and enfolded her closer into his embrace. “What’s got you so down, Fran?”

“I’m not ready to talk about it,” she pouted. Leaving the library for the final time was much harder than she had first realized and Fran feared that if she started to open up about it, the floodgates would be sure to follow.

“Alright,” RJ replied softly. He hugged her tighter, burying his face in the crook of her neck.

After a moment, Fran frowned, noticing just how tight and tender their hug was, as if RJ was pouring all of his love into it. And if she wasn’t mistaken, all of his fear. She leaned back a bit, “RJ…you’re shaking.”

He licked his suddenly dry lips. “It’s just…” he took a deep breath and spoke his next sentence in a rush. “There’s something I need to tell you and it’s pretty hefty.”

Fran did her best not to look overly concerned. “Oh?”

“It’s not about us,” RJ told her hastily. “I mean, it is, but it isn’t. Definitely _not_ a break up talk.”

Fran sank in relief. “Well, that’s good to hear…but then what is this about? Because the way you were talking, I was going to guess a surprise arranged engagement or something!”

“My mom would never do that to us!”

“True,” Fran conceded. “But I know nothing about your father.”

RJ snorted. “He wouldn’t do that to me either, trust me.”

“So then what is this about?”

RJ sighed heavily, not quite meeting her gaze. “Something about me, about my past.”

Fran grew playfully sly. “You’re not an ex-member of the mafia are you?” He laughed at that and shook his head.

“I’ll explain as soon as I’m closed up,” RJ said, feeling the lightest he had been in days. “It’s a long story that’s meant for you and you alone.”

Fran eyed him in slight suspicion. “Alright…”

He kissed the top of her head. “I’ll tell you everything in thirty.”

“I’ll be counting the seconds,” Fran replied as she headed toward the stairs.”

“Yeah, you and me both,” RJ said softly.

* * *

RJ slowly made his way up the stairs as the reality of his revealing his past to Fran began to settle on his shoulders. It wasn’t just explaining Pai Zhuq to her that made him nervous, though the more he thought about it; the more he realized that she would be able to take that part in stride—so long as she didn’t (rightfully) tear into him for hiding it from her. It was the fact that Dai Shi was coming, a terrible evil heading into her path made him nervous and not just for her safety. What if she thought it was all too much and she wanted to leave?

He would let her go. He had already acknowledged it even if it would be completely heartrending to accept.

He didn’t even realize he had tears in his eyes until Fran was in front of him, gently grasping his hands and asking him what was wrong. “What I have to tell you is going to be heavy,” he choked out. “I’m so sorry Fran, but it is and I’m just so afraid that it’s going to send you away which I’ll accept, I swear I will but you deserve to know, you do, I’m so so sorry that I kept this from you and I love you so m—”

He was cut off by Fran’s lips pressing insistently against his. She wrapped him up in her embrace, hoping that he could feel her love and assurance. His business was his, Fran acknowledged. Whatever was in his past, no matter how big or how scary, she wouldn’t stop loving him. Particularly since he had already confirmed that it didn’t involve a criminal background.

RJ held her tightly to him. He pulled her close, trying to pull her even closer as he deepened the kiss. He felt warm, electrified even as he realized he could feel Fran’s love and her confidence as she gently stroked his cheek. She wasn’t scared. She had even proven that earlier when they were in the restaurant and had merely seemed curious when he had said that he needed to tell her something he should have told her earlier. Fran wasn’t angry and was here for the long run.

When they broke apart for air, Fran smiled teasingly at RJ, gently poking him on the nose. “Breathe, RJ,” she whispered.

“Can’t do that if you’re taking my breath away,” he pouted.

Fran giggled even as she felt heat cover her cheeks at his words. “Now there’s the RJ I know and love. So,” her countenance grew silently more serious. “What’s this big, bad secret?”

RJ pressed his lips together as he tried to mentally arrange the best way to start explaining things to Fran. “Do you remember the first time you stayed the night here? The night of the storm?”

“I don’t think I’ll ever forget,” she tilted her head as she studied him. “Why? Does this have something to do with when we exchanged childhood stories?”

He nodded. “Yeah, it definitely does.”

“Okay…”

“Do you remember when I told you that the school I went to was old and full of tradition?”

When Fran nodded, RJ continued. “There’s a bit more to that. You see, this school was secluded and as such, not too many people know of its existence. Only a selection of students is specially chosen each year.”

Fran was surprised as she asked, “And your family managed to have someone from each generation attend this school?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright,” Fran said slowly as she took her boyfriend’s words in.

“So this school…this academy is called the Order of the Claw. They teach this ancient mystical form of martial arts called Pai Zhuq.”

Fran was definitely intrigued. “Order of the Claw…so these martial arts moves have something to do with animals, right?”

“It’s not just the movements themselves,” RJ clarified. “There’s a point in every student’s education should they deem themselves ready and worthy that they become bonded to an animal spirit.”

She stared at him with wide eyes. “But there are so many animals out there both real and mystical! Just how many warriors are there that it’s able to stay a secret? And what animal spirit do you have?”

RJ laughed, deeply relieved that Fran was indeed taking this all in stride. “I have the wolf spirit,” he explained. “As for your first question, I don’t really have an answer because unfortunately even a master such as myself is not beholden to all of the intricacies of the school’s laws. As far as I know of, students both past and present generally know how to keep their mouths shut. But no one’s really been punished for revealing things to family members if it’s a necessity. After all, my mom knows.”

“Wow…” Fran breathed as she continued to absorb RJ’s story.

He gently squeezed her hands. “It’s a lot to take in,” he admitted. “Are you okay?”

Fran gave him a quick smile as she squeezed his hands in return. “I’m fine, just trying to put all of the puzzle pieces together. So! A wolf spirit! That actually sounds pretty awesome.” Her smile faltered as she recalled what RJ had told her the night of the storm.

“You said that your family has been going to this school for generations and that your father was hoping that you would follow the family path…” She eyed him warily. “Your father’s not bonded to a wolf spirit, is he?”

RJ sighed heavily, dropping his gaze from hers. “No, he’s not. He’s bonded to the shark spirit and he’s resented it from day one when I received my spiritual partner. I haven’t seen nor spoken to him in years once I’d had enough with his harsh attitude toward me.”

“Well for starters,” Fran winked. “I happen to think that the wolf spirit is way cooler than the shark spirit.” She grinned when she saw RJ begin to smile. “And I don’t know about you, but I think it’s high time that your father realized that you are your own person, not his puppet, family legacy be damned. You became a master of your own right, it shouldn’t matter which animal spirit helped you to achieve that.”

RJ’s smile grew broader as he pulled Fran into a hug. “How did I manage to find someone so understanding and encouraging as you, princess?”

Fran snorted. “You just so happened to be in the right place and the right time when I got knocked off of that ladder. And I’m accepting of all of this because I love you and I believe in more mysticism than you might think.”

When RJ leaned back to look at her curiously, Fran smirked. “That’s a story for another time.” When he pouted at her, clearly put out by the fact that he was baring all to her while she still held secrets, Fran grew serious. “Because it’s not my story to tell,” she explained. “Just one that I know.”

RJ sighed dramatically. “That’s fair, I suppose.”

“We’ll just have to bookmark it for now,” Fran quipped. “Now, back to your story because all of this doesn’t sound so scary so what’s the matter? Is some sort of maniacal enemy coming to threaten the school and you’re being called upon to take up the lead into battle or something?”

RJ stared at his girlfriend in shock. “Are you sure that your secret isn’t that you’re a mind reader or something, because actually yeah, that’s basically it.”

Fran was flustered. “Um, no, I’m definitely not a mind reader but I do read enough books that would have some sort of plot like that. I was just…I was just kidding!” Her expression became incredulous. “It’s actually true? There's something wicked this way comes?”

If it weren’t such a serious situation, RJ would have laughed at Fran’s reference. Instead he nodded, expression grave. “There’s this spirit that some call the most vile evil imaginable. The baddest of the bad. His name is Dai Shi and he has the classic villainous designs of wanting to take over the world.”

Fran blew out a heavy enough breath that it caused her bangs to flutter. “What evil entity doesn’t want that?” She asked wryly. “How come I’m only hearing of him now though?”

“He was locked away over ten thousand years ago,” RJ explained. “I received a message from an old mentor of mine that the trap he’s in won’t be able to contain him for very much longer. My role in all of this is to train the warriors meant to take him down.”

Fran frowned slightly at that. “But if you’re a master, why aren’t you joining the fight?”

“I might,” RJ answered. “However something tells me that part won’t come until later. Really, I’m meant to teach and guide for the most part. My time on the battlefield will come when it’s meant to.”

Fran worried at her lower lip. She honestly didn’t want to think of RJ on the battlefield, going up against some ancient evil. She didn’t even want to think about innocent students who were supposed to take this Dai Shi down first. However the way he was talking, this appeared to be his destiny. She wouldn’t try to talk him out of it. Instead she would put all of her faith into the man that she loved and hoped that he would make it through to the other side of it all alive and in one piece.

She jolted when she felt RJ gently cup her chin as he tilted her head back so they could make eye contact. “Are you okay?” He asked softly. “If this is too much—”

“You were right, this is heavy stuff.” She reached up to cup his cheek, thumb lightly stroking the skin. “But never mind me, for I’ll be okay. I promise. What about you? How are you doing?”

“Right now I’m just super relieved that you haven’t run away from here screaming,” RJ admitted with a weak laugh. “I’m scared. Not so much for me, but for your safety. For the students that I’ll be taking on in the near future when I have little to no teaching experience whatsoever.”

“What can I do to help you?”

He pressed his forehead against hers. “I’m not sure. I haven’t thought that far ahead; I just wanted to bring you completely into my world. Just…try to keep me grounded and sane?”

Fran giggled. “You’re asking _me_ to keep you sane? RJ, I’m not exactly the most fully qualified person to do that.”

RJ rolled his eyes and kissed her swiftly. “You’re more than enough to keep me grounded. Now, if you don’t mind the change in subjects, why did _you_ come in here earlier looking so sad?”

Fran sighed at his question, her countenance displaying the heartbreak she had worn so openly earlier. “I lost my job at the library.”

RJ winced and hugged her. “I’m so sorry, Fran! What happened? Whose ass do I have to kick for hurting you like this?”

A laugh bubbled up from Fran’s throat. “Well actually, the whole staff has been temporarily let go as the library goes through some pretty extensive renovations. So…you can beat up capitalism? Fire safety codes? I dunno.”

Her boyfriend snorted. “Those dastardly fiends might be harder to defeat.” He thought for a moment. “What about your teacher’s assistant job? You can still fall back on that, right?”

Fran pulled away from the embrace, looking slightly shame-faced. “Actually no, I can’t because I gave that up to work more hours at the library and with my own course load becoming more intense this upcoming semester, I knew had to give being a student myself all of my concentration.”

RJ hummed as he continued to think. “There isn’t any chance you would want to work here, is there?”

“Really?”

“Why not?” He shrugged. “You’re already a great cook so I’m pretty sure that you can pick up the recipes here quickly. Maybe I can even incorporate some lessons in pizza making!”

She looked at him in bemusement. “And how exactly would you manage that?”

“Not sure yet,” RJ admitted. “There is one other thing though.”

“And what’s that?”

RJ looked at her a bit abashedly. “Would you let me teach you self-defense? Just as a precaution?”

“Chip and the others in Briarwood have taught me a few things,” Fran revealed. “But it’s been a while and I’m pretty sure I’m rusty so yeah! Let’s do this!” She paused. “But when would we do this?”

“Are you free tomorrow night?”

“I am.” Fran smirked. “It’s a date.”

RJ pecked her lips. “See you then.”

* * *

Fran was having a rather hard time concentrating on RJ’s lessons. It wasn’t helping when said man was constantly circling her, gently correcting her stance by straightening her arms or guiding her legs into the correct position. It was making her rather flustered and the fact that he had his hair tied back for this training session wasn’t helping in the slightest. Rather, it made him all the more attractive on a whole new level.

Though within the first twenty-four hours after RJ had told Fran everything about his past she had felt a healthy stab of envy toward him living such a fascinating and mystical life, Fran soon found herself grateful that she had never been a student. If RJ was distracting her this much and they were already dating, she couldn’t even imagine how she would fare if he were the TA and she were the student.

She would have probably fainted at one point.

Ten minutes later and she managed to surprise them both by breaking out of RJ’s hold, hooking an ankle beneath his and sweeping his leg from underneath him, causing him to topple over backward. He tried taking Fran down with him, but she quickly evaded him and plopped down on his chest with a laugh as she pinned his arms above his head. “You seem to be in quite the predicament,” she sassed.

RJ huffed. “I thought I would have had you! Your mind was a million miles away!”

Fran blushed and pointedly cleared her throat. “I ah, didn’t realize how much _touching_ there would be during this lesson.”

RJ sent her a sly smile. “Just wanted to make sure your stances were precise. One false move and—“

She squeaked as RJ suddenly flipped them over so that she was the one pinned to the floor. “You’re the one who’s trapped,” her boyfriend announced triumphantly.

“So it would seem,” Fran huffed. She arched a brow. “Going to pull this on your own students?”

RJ snorted. “No, they should already know moves like this.” He leaned down and kissed her nose. “You however, princess, are a special exception.”

Fran blushed heavily. “Something tells me this isn’t exactly in the Pai Zhuq student-teacher rulebook.”

“Oh definitely not.” He leaned back, frowning in concern. “Am I making you nervous?”

“No and yes,” Fran admitted. “No, because you’re my boyfriend and we kiss all of the time. Yes, because you’re my boyfriend and I want you to kiss me, but I’m afraid that if you do, all my concentration on this lesson is going to go completely out the window.”

RJ mentally scoffed. Like Fran wasn’t completely distracting in her near form-fitting workout outfit she had worn to their lesson. Her own hair was pulled back into a high ponytail, several strands falling loose and framing her face. Her glasses were gone, contacts being worn instead. She always seemed much more self-assured when she didn’t wear her glasses even if she was one of the smartest, sassiest people that he knew.

And the fact that she was lying underneath him…

He shook himself. Now was _not_ the time for such a line of thinking. He grinned, almost teasingly. “Well, we can’t have that.” He got off of her and helped her to her feet. He winked. “That’ll be extra credit.”

Fran blew out a breath as she tried to get her heart rate under control. Her boyfriend was a hardcore flirt and apparently it was his mission today to get her to blush as often as possible. Rude.

Sending him a glare, Fran asked in an even tone. “Didn’t you mention something about a Swoop technique?”

“I did,” RJ confirmed. “But I’d rather not demonstrate that with you as it’s a very advanced technique.”

“Can you at least explain it to me?”

“It was created by one of my teachers, Master Swoop. He’s partnered with a bat spirit.”

Fran looked at him in surprise. “A bat spirit?” _Wait a minute…a mystical technique relying on a bat spirit…_

“Yeah,” RJ smiled nostalgically. “It’s a bit fitting considering Master Swoop himself is blind and—“

“Oh that’s just mean!”

RJ frowned, almost affronted on his former mentor’s behalf. “What’s mean? The man is blind, the bat spirit—”

“Most likely relies on sound,” Fran said in a near deadpan tone. “Even with something as soft as breathing.” She crossed her arms. “And considering it’s a martial arts technique, it also relies on sensing motion, feeling for vibrations within surfaces. If I were to take this one step further and consider the mysticism of Pai Zhuq, I’m going to take a wild guess and assume that one can also sense an enemy’s aura.”

RJ stared at Fran for a moment, processing her near perfect recitation of what the Swoop technique was. He had barely explained it to her. “Are you sure you’re not a former student yourself?”

Fran snorted. “I’m sure. It’s just not that hard to puzzle out.”

“So you’re just exceptionally astute. Duly noted.”

She narrowed her eyes as she stared at him accusingly. “You’re going to use this technique to kick your students’ asses aren’t you?”

RJ smiled as innocently as he could muster. “They’re not cubs, Fran.”

That caught her curiosity. “Cubs?”

“Er, think of it like the first years from Harry Potter,” RJ elaborated. “Or I guess at least third graders in a normal American school system.”

“The fact that those are two vastly different school systems aside,” Fran stated. “I think I understand.”

“Good!” He placed a hand over his heart. “And I promise not to kick their asses.” A beat. “Much.”

Fran rolled her eyes and sent him an exasperated smile. “I suppose I’ll take it. Any chance we can move on to restaurant lessons now?”

“Thought you’d never ask,” RJ admitted with a relieved smile. “I’m starving!”

* * *

Forty-five minutes later, the two were seated in the kitchen, digging into a freshly made RJ special. RJ perused his slice with a grin, Fran had been the one to make the pizza under his instruction but really there had been little for the man to teach her. The crust had barely even any char to it, something that RJ himself was notorious for. “I was right!” He exclaimed. “You are awesome at this!”

A self-depreciating comment about how it wasn’t too difficult to follow directions and have a sense of time management rose to Fran’s lips but she managed to quash it at the last second knowing that RJ would just tell her to relax and accept that she was awesome. She stretched her lips into a bashful smile instead and thanked him. When RJ reached for another slice, his sleeve lifted enough for Fran to make out a hint of a tattoo.

“Since when have you had that?” She asked, nodding toward his arm.

RJ grinned and rolled his sleeve up completely, brandishing a black tattoo in the shape of a claw mark. “Oh,” Fran breathed. “The Order of the _Claw_.”

“Exactamundo,” RJ said. “I received it the day I became a master.”

“I take it all masters have this mark?”

RJ nodded, his mouth full of pizza. He took a sip of soda before speaking again. “Hopefully I can guide my students into reaching master level.”

“You will,” Fran said with a self-assured nod.

He smirked. “I promise not to fall to the dark side if I fail.” He laughed when Fran tossed her balled up napkin in annoyance. “Hey! That was a good one!”

“If you call them Padawans, I get to spray you with the kitchen hose.”

“Nahh, they’re still my cubs.” RJ glanced back at his pizza, a considering look on his face. “I know that this is completely random, but you have to admit babe that’s totally me…I think I should try to make a Mount Kilimanjaro pizza!”

“You’re right, I have no idea where that came from but it’s totally you,” Fran laughed. “How on Earth are you going to pull that off?”

“I haven’t the slightest but I can’t wait to experiment.”

“I’ll have the fire extinguisher on standby.”

Though there was a playful twinkle in her eyes, RJ couldn’t help but laugh sheepishly as he went slightly red. “Yeah…good idea.”

* * *

Fran greeted RJ at her door with a huge grin on her face. “Ready to celebrate the New Year?”

“We’ve got about six hours to go,” RJ pointed out. “But yeah, I’m ready.”

Fran snorted and pulled her boyfriend into her apartment. “Before we get this party started, there’s a project that I’ve been working on. I need your opinion on it if you don’t mind.”

“Sure, but what project exactly? I thought you still had three weeks before the spring semester started.”

“I do,” she confirmed. “You’ll see.” She gestured for him to follow her the short distance to a closed door that he knew wasn’t her bedroom; he had that path memorized when he took care of her during a small unfortunate bout of food poisoning that had nothing to do with his cooking thank you very much!

He stared at the door curiously. Fran’s apartment was a two-bedroom; wouldn’t this be her mother’s room? When he voiced the question, Fran smiled and explained that her mother due to her job keeping her abroad for most days of the year that she had let Fran have complete control over the whole apartment and that when she did come back to Ocean Bluff, her mother tended to camp out on the sofa bed in the living room.

Fran nodded toward the door. “Open it,” she encouraged.

RJ shot her a wary look before reaching for the doorknob and turning it. He was greeted by the sight of what was indeed a bedroom, but the style it was arranged in had him doubting that it was Fran’s mother’s room after all. There was a twin bed in the far left corner, fully made with navy blue bedding. Next to the bed was a worn recliner that was surprisingly upholstered in a deep violet. Just in front of the bed was a small, sturdy table with a heater and tea kettle on it with a single tea cup. On a small dresser was a portable DVD player with a stack of DVDs. A short stack of comic books sat next to the DVDs. There was a dartboard nailed to one of the walls with an old basketball hoop next to it. Further down was a chalkboard with markers filled with chalkboard friendly paint.

“This looks like a room meant for me!” RJ laughed. He turned to look at his girlfriend in amazement. “Isn’t it a little too soon for us to be moving in together?”

Fran grinned. “Well yeah, but that’s not necessarily what this is. When we were training the other day and you were showing me how to work the register at Jungle Karma, you mentioned being nervous. You felt like your space was suddenly being invaded and you made a joke about hiding in the supply closet if things became too crowded.”

This was indeed true; he had said all of those things to Fran. It did feel like his space was going to be monumentally tighter, filled with complete strangers. At least when Fran had first stayed over, she had already been his friend for a month. Not to mention, these people were his students…students tended to go to their own homes, their own dorms after a certain amount of hours. His were going to be with him for twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

And they were complete strangers.

Fran went on talking, completely unaware of RJ’s musings. “So I created a safe space you can hide in if need be. I like to call it ‘RJ’s chill zone’!” She threw her arms open in a gesture of showmanship. “Ta-da!”

RJ was touched. He beamed and wrapped his arms around his girlfriend. “This is perfect, princess. Thank you.”

Fran returned the embrace. “You’re welcome!”

He swayed Fran. “Any chance we can go cuddle in the chair?”

She snorted. “You really have to ask me that?”

RJ snickered and lifted Fran off of her feet, walking the short distance to the recliner. He plopped down in it, pulling Fran into his lap. He rested his head atop of hers as she snuggled into his chest. “Did I ever tell you that you’re like my favorite person ever?”

She giggled. “Christmas Day when I gifted you Dance Dance Revolution. I can’t believe you’ve never owned one before!”

He made a face. “They can be expensive!”

“Well, it’s not the latest model,” Fran admitted. “But it seemed to be in pretty good condition when you and I played it.” A second later she amended, “When I attempted to play it and you kicked my ass.”

RJ laughed softly and cuddled Fran closer. “You’ll find your rhythm.”

She tilted her head so he could see the thoughtful expression displayed on her face. “Do you think we can turn it into some form of training?”

RJ grew excited. “Actually, yeah, I think we can. To hone in on agility, stamina and all the different ways the body will have to twist when dodging and when moving closer. Maybe that could be a fun ice breaker with my students!”

“Actually, there’s something I’ve been thinking about when it comes to my new students but it involves a few phone calls to be made with possibly at least a few favors to be promised.”

Fran shot him a confused look. “And just what have you been thinking about?”

RJ cleared his suddenly dry throat. “I’ve been thinking about seeing what I can do to connect with someone who knows how to access the morphing grid.”

“The morphing grid…” Fran murmured as she sifted through her memories, trying to figure out why those words sounded familiar. Her eyes widened when she connected the dots. “Wait! You want them to be the newest team of _Power Rangers?_ ”

He looked at her, impressed. “You know about the morphing grid?”

Fran snorted and lightly swatted at him. “RJ, the morphing grid is common knowledge even to us non-Power Ranger plebs. Not to mention that the original team was called the Mighty _Morphin’_ Power Rangers.”

“I thought the suits and the abilities that tend to come with them might help my students hone their connections with their animal spirits a bit better,” RJ admitted. “In turn, it’ll also help them be better equipped in defending the city against Dai Shi.”

“Wow,” Fran breathed as she leaned back against her boyfriend. “Sounds intense and I mean that in the best way possible.” When he chuckled in approval she turned back to look at him. “What about you? Are you going to get a morpher? I know that you said you’re going to be on the sidelines more or less for the time being, but you’re still a warrior so won’t you need one?”

“I’m thinking about it.”

Sensing his hesitation, Fran prodded. “But?”

RJ shrugged. “I dunno, I guess part of me is still wondering why me for all of this. Why not one of the older masters? I mean, yeah, I graduated seven years ago but I’ve largely been making ends meet by working in restaurants all this time!”

“You’re probably the one who is chosen to be the guide for these students _because_ you’re a younger master,” Fran said thoughtfully.” That probably makes you more relatable. Yes, you’ve experienced the real world, but you’ve got such a down-to-earth connection to life that probably makes learning how to live in the real world a much more palatable thing for those who are going to be freshly graduated students. Students who are coming from a secluded academy no less! It’s possibly going to be quite the culture shock for them on top of having to worry about Dai Shi!”

RJ grinned mischievously into his girlfriend’s hair. “There’s one thing that’ll definitely make me a very cool master to these guys.”

“All the pizza their hearts could want?”

“There is that,” he conceded. “But something that could actually be considered better. I’ve got television!”

Fran laughed and turned in her boyfriend’s grasp so she could embrace him properly. “You’ve got several.”

“Yes I do.”

The self-satisfaction in RJ’s voice was so thick that could Fran could practically feel it. She rolled her eyes and shook her head, smiling in fond exasperation. She straightened, looking at RJ considerately before pressing a soft, lingering kiss to his forehead. She kissed him slightly firmer in the same spot before pulling away.

RJ snickered, his nose wrinkling in the way it would whenever he was exceptionally confused. “Um, babe, if you kiss me any harder, you’re going to end up kissing the wolf spirit.” He raised an eyebrow when he saw her blush and refuse to meet his gaze. “Wait, you were actually trying to kiss the wolf?”

Fran shrugged, an embarrassed smile on her face as she played with her hair. “You once told me that the wolf spirit resides within your mind.” She shrugged. “I mean, I do love you, so how can I not adore something that’s a part of you?”

He was both incredibly touched and rather flustered by her words. The odd yet fitting combination of bemusement and pride he felt emanating from his wolf spirit did little to help matters. A breathy laugh escaped RJ as he pulled Fran into a fiery kiss. The world around them faded for a long while as he managed to lean over and pull the lever that enabled the recliner to lean back completely without breaking their kiss.

When they pulled away, it was to the sight of giggling through swollen lips, disheveled clothes and _exceptionally_ ruffled hair. “Well!” Fran gasped. “That was some reaction!”

RJ pressed a kiss to the side of her neck, grinning as he felt the heat of her skin as it flushed. “A simple thank you wasn’t gonna suffice, princess.”

“So I—” She broke off into a gasp as he continued to trail kisses down the side of her neck and pressed another one to her collarbone. “See…RJ, at this point, I don’t think we’re going to end up watching the New Year’s Eve show in Times Square.”

“We’ll make it,” he assured her as he pecked her cheek before leaning away. “Actually, I have a slight dilemma that I could use your input on.”

Fran sat up and nodded, giving him her full attention. “Go on.”

“So, when it comes to animal spirits, once they’re partnered with a human counterpart, that human then has the chance to name their animal spirit. But…”

“You haven’t been able to come with a name just yet?”

RJ looked exasperated. “No. In seven years I haven’t been able to name him.”

“Is it a requirement? I mean, names have power, but that doesn’t mean that your wolf spirit has to have a name.”

“No, it’s not a requirement, but I would like to name him,” RJ replied. “You’re smart and you've read a ton of books so I was thinking maybe you’d be able to come up with something?”

Fran hummed as she thought. “I don’t know too many wolf characters,” she confessed. “That doesn’t mean your wolf spirit has to have one of those.” She stared into the distance as she continued to think. After a few minutes, she looked back at RJ. “What about Togo? I mean yeah, everyone knows Balto, but Togo was right there delivering vaccines to those kids in that fierce winter storm.”

“Togo…” RJ repeated, rolling the name around his head and on his tongue. He lightly poked at his wolf spirit. _What do you think?_

 _It’s a respectable name,_ the wolf spirit, now known as Togo acquiesced. _Thank Fran for me, would you?_

 _Of course._ RJ beamed at Fran, kissing her once. “He loves it.”

“Yay!” Fran cheered before scrambling off of RJ’s lap, pulling him up with her. “Now c’mon! There’s a New Year’s party to be had!”

He laughed as he followed her out of his “chill zone”. He squeezed her hand, smiling fondly at her. “Let’s party!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I did have it planned to keep going and end this chapter with the Rangers arriving but this chapter is already well over seven thousand words and that’s without this author’s note even! So chapter nine will have the rise of Dai Shi and the arrival of the Rangers to start things off. Gotta love outlines, they make writing these chapters so much easier.
> 
> Umm…did it seem like things were reaching when Fran was putting two and two together very quickly on some things? I just feel like between her being such an avid reader and the cousin of a known Power Ranger, she’s going to accept things a lot faster compared to the average civilian. But maybe that’s just me because I’m the author? XD
> 
> The next chapter might take longer but only because I need to marathon the first few episodes to refresh my memory on the boys’ personalities! And to get to know Camille again…for…reasons…


	9. Welcome To The Jungle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dai Shi rises and the Rangers arrive. What will first impressions be like for RJ, his new students, his girlfriend and Ocean Bluff? Will they all manage to cope as war is on the horizon?

It was just after closing when RJ sensed it. There was a darkness that suddenly blanketed the world even if only a select amount of people can feel it. It wasn’t smothering—not yet— and that’s only a tiny bit of relief for this ominous presence can only mean one thing.

Dai Shi has escaped from his prison after all.

_Well, it’s been ten thousand years_ , RJ thought wryly as he tried desperately to insert some levity into the situation. _The rust over the lock was bound to cause it to break sooner or later._

He gripped the handle of the mop he was holding as he gasped; a wave of pain lancing through his chest then a cold sensation permeated his entire being as he felt the light of Master Mao go out.

RJ had no idea how long he was standing there, willing the pain to leave him when a warm hand gently encircled his wrist, a soft voice pulling him back to the present. “RJ? RJ! What’s the matter? What’s wrong?”

The voice of his girlfriend. “Fran?” He gasped.

“It’s me, RJ,” Fran confirmed. She rested a hand against his face. “Are you alright? Do I need to call an ambulance?”

RJ shook his head as he began to feel the cold and pain begin to recede, only leaving an empty ache in its place. “It’s begun,” he managed to get out.

Fran frowned at his words, still fairly convinced that he was having a heart attack. “What’s begun?”

“Dai Shi’s return,” he answered as he fought to get his breathing under his control. “He’s escaped.”

“Oh,” Fran said, her voice small. “Wonderful.”

A weak grin crawled across his face. “My thoughts exactly. On top of that…Master Mao’s gone.”

She stared at him in disbelief. “And you know this _how?_ ” She took in his haggard appearance and suddenly put the pieces together. “Oh,” she breathed again. “You can feel it.”

RJ managed to nod. “Yeah.” He grimaced before continuing, “It’s a Pai Zhuq Master thing. We’re all faintly connected…we just know that the others are alive but when something that extreme, the _way_ Master Mao died…I could feel that.”

The look Fran gave him was full of sadness, but there was no pity. She carefully unlocked his fingers from the mop and rested it back in the bucket that held the cleaning solution used on the restaurant floor before tugging him into a hug, not saying a word as he all but sagged against her.

They remained in their embrace for several moments before Fran gently extricated herself from the hug though not letting go entirely as she kept her arm around his shoulders. She then walked them both to the door to lock it and flip the sign to “closed” before walking them up to the loft, RJ keeping his head pressed against her shoulder as they moved.

Once the pair reached the loft, RJ managed to walk without relying too much on Fran’s support, immediately heading for his chair and plopping down into it. With his hand still holding Fran’s, RJ pulled her back into his arms with one fluid motion, letting out a soft laugh as she squeaked from falling into his lap. RJ sighed and rested his head against hers.

“So it begins,” he mumbled.

“Mm…not yet,” Fran mused.

RJ quirked an eyebrow at her words. “How so?”

Fran gestured toward the empty space surrounding them. “Your students aren’t here right now, are they?”

“No,” he agreed. “But they’ll be here very soon.”

“In the meantime, I think you’re entitled to simply mourn, RJ. Don’t worry about planning anything involving Dai Shi or your students. Just breathe, reflect and honor your teacher.”

The compassion in his girlfriend’s voice had him blinking back tears as he swallowed against a lump in his throat. “Is it cool if I end up crying?” He asked in a tight voice.

Fran turned and wrapped her arms around his torso, placing a soft kiss against his crown. “Crying is a form of release, RJ. If you cry, you won’t find any judgement from me.” She laid her head against his chest. “I’m here for you, I promise.”

RJ pressed his lips together tightly as he felt hot tears well up in his eyes. His whole form trembled as his breath hitched. He tried fighting his crying for two seconds before burying his face in Fran’s shoulder and sobbed. He clung to her as he cried for his master’s sacrifice, for the students he would soon have whom he strongly suspected would have been witness to Master Mao’s death.

He cried out of fear for the danger that Fran was nearly waltzing into.

Neither of them were sure how much time had passed before RJ’s sobs tapered off into sniffles and gulps of air as he tried to center himself and get his breathing under control. He was silent for a long moment, simply hugging Fran before speaking, his voice hoarse.

“Master Mao was there for me when I bonded with Togo; he helped me find my courage when I had to tell my father that I wasn’t going to be following in the family’s footsteps of inheriting the shark spirit.” He smirked. “A bit ironic that I needed help being courageous when the wolf spirit is largely about having an abundance of it, but Master Mao understood that I felt daunted by facing my dad and so he gave me the push that I needed to tell him.

“He also gave me the push that I needed to eventually walk away from my father. Granted, I don’t think he expected me to cut off contact from my dad for this long, but it’s not like he’s been seeking me out either.”

“Your father?” Fran clarified.

“Mm,” RJ sniffled. “Yeah.”

The couple fell into silence as Fran gently rubbed RJ’s back. They merely sat there as Fran did what she could to soothe and support her boyfriend with her presence as he mourned and wondered about what was out there on the horizon.

* * *

Three days later, RJ was hard at work in the kitchen determined to distract himself from his nerves. His students were due to arrive this day and Fran was off on a delivery run, therefore unable to provide him with a much needed pep talk to help him reestablish his balance.

Or provide a distraction with a make-out session.

**_Professional_** _behavior Wolf Master_ , he chided himself. They were on the clock and soon they wouldn’t be the only employees of Jungle Karma Pizza. He couldn’t exactly kiss or even snuggle Fran whenever he felt like it.

…This was going to be much harder than he thought.

_‘At least you’re in a relationship with her,’_ Togo offered. _‘If you two were still just friends, you’d spend much of your days uselessly pining.’_

RJ’s face heated at his animal spirit’s words. _‘I would not!’_

_‘You absolutely would,’_ Togo replied. He smirked and added, _‘You also cannot blame **my** influence on your desires, cub. That can go to your raging hormones.’_

The young teacher squeaked and tried not to choke on air as he pressed his fingers a little too hard into the dough he worked. _‘I have no idea what you’re talking about.’_

_‘Of course not. And how goes that Mt. Kilimanjaro pizza of yours?’_

RJ stared down at the dough beneath his hands. ‘ _I have no idea.’_

* * *

He received his answer an hour later when he stumbled out of his kitchen through a cloud of smoke, coughing and waving his hands as he tried to clean the air. ‘ _So much for that idea after all,’_ he thought wearily to himself. _‘Really need to remember where I put that fire extinguisher.’_

His heart skipped a beat when he saw three young adults in school uniforms that he knew all too well. They were wandering about his restaurant with wary yet curious eyes, obviously seeking out their new master. He bit back a smile and inwardly shook his head as they approached a man that looked vaguely similar to Master Mao. He wanted to write the mistake off as them being stereotypical then immediately scolded himself for the idea. He could feel the trepidation and mourning rolling off of the trio as they executed perfect bows in unison.

They missed Master Mao.

Besides, RJ continued to silently reason as he watched the man shake his head at his new students, he wouldn’t have been surprised if Master Mao hadn’t actually given them his _name._

A cough escaped him, scratching his throat in the process. Apparently he hadn’t gotten all of the smoke out of his lungs.

The sound alerted his students who looked at him with surprised yet doubtful stares. He grinned and made his way over to them deciding on the spot to not reveal who he was just yet beyond being the owner of the restaurant they had stumbled upon. He was going to turn this opportunity of mistaken identity into an opportunity. After all, RJ was much more of a hands-on type of teacher rather than a theoretical one.

They could ask Fran about that.

_‘Er,’_ he inwardly amended. _‘On second thought…maybe not…’_

RJ plucked three menus from the host stand and greeted the trio, feigning obliviousness. “I see we have new customers.”

The most serious of the three instantly frowned. “We don’t have time to sit around and eat pizza; we gotta keep searching.”

The other male protested. “But I haven’t had pizza in years!” Ah yes, RJ silently sympathized with him. One of the many downfalls of living at the Academy. No pizza parties or pizza Fridays.

“I am a little hungry,” the female with them admitted. RJ had to hold back a smirk as he watched the first boy cave at her words and ushered them to an empty table. At the very least, his students would be entertaining.

As they perused the menus RJ had handed to them, he was studiously casual as he studied them. His heart ached when he realized just how young they were. Not that he himself was all that much older, but these three were barely adults and completely fresh out of the Academy who undoubtedly watched Master Mao die.

He wanted to ask how it happened, what went down specifically that caused Dai Shi to escape after millennia and kill Master Mao in the process. But the question died in his throat as soon as it rose to his lips. It was far too soon to ask what happened. It would be too cold, too cruel. Instead RJ said: “You guys on a mission or something? You seem to be searching for someone.”

The three exchanged glances at one another before the young woman silently nominated herself as their spokeswoman. “We’re looking for our new master,” she confessed quietly, her wide blue eyes begging him to be discreet on the matter.

RJ fought to keep his expression neutral, the most casual of smiles gracing his face as he replied, “Aren’t we all.”

It didn’t help matters, when the shorter, more serious of the guys who was _undoubtedly_ a barrel of laughs, rolled his eyes, muttering to them that he didn’t think that RJ would be of much help to them.

_‘Don’t count your chickens before they hatch, dude.’_

“You know,” RJ began once he finished scribbling down their orders. “If you guys think you’re going to be here in town for a while, maybe you can work here as you find yourselves or whatever it is this master of yours will be helping you with.”

Mr. Serious Guy’s friends appeared to be genuinely thinking his offer over. The kid grumped and said he’d only consider it if he got something worthwhile like a manager position.

As if there was anything not worthwhile about making the pizzas!

And speaking of a manager…

Fran walked back into the restaurant, finished with her delivery run. She found RJ and smiled sympathetically at his disheveled appearance. “I take it the Mt. Kilimanjaro pizza wasn’t exactly a success?” She asked him lightly as she brushed flour from his hair and cheek.

“It’s a work in progress,” RJ admitted before gently grabbing her shoulders and spinning her to face his students. “Fran, these are my potential new hires. Potential new hires, this is my _manager_ , Fran.”

Fran’s eyes went wide at the announcement. Well that was certainly news to her! She turned to look at her boyfriend over her shoulder, eyebrow arched. He merely grinned back at her, eyes silently telling her to go with it.

Inwardly shrugging, Fran beamed at the trio. “Well, I hope you go from potential new hires to actual hires! It would be great to have you all on the team!” _‘Oh dear, I sound like every other minimum wage paying, part-time hiring manager…’_

RJ’s students graced her with tentative smiles. As RJ nodded at them, he gently steered Fran toward the kitchen, needing someone to talk to as he worked on their food. “I take it that’s them?” She asked him quietly.

“Yep.”

“They seem to be as nervous as you.”

“They probably are,” RJ agreed as he reached for a fresh ball of dough. “They’ve been through a lot.”

Fran smiled sadly and gently squeezed his shoulder. He placed his hand over hers briefly, kissing the top of her head before getting back to work. As he tossed the dough, he was hit with the realization of a piece of important information that he lacked. “You know…” RJ mused as he placed the stretched dough on the pan. “I don’t think Master Mao ever told my students what my name is.”

Fran wrinkled her nose at that, a habit that RJ adored. “Well that’s not helpful.”

“I’m also pretty sure he never told me _their_ names either.”

His girlfriend bit the inside of her lip as she desperately attempted to keep her expression appropriately serious. “Oh…well, that’s _definitely_ not helpful.”

“Exactamundo.”

* * *

RJ had just placed the trays of food in front of his students and was trying to think of a way to get their names when chaos erupted not too far from the restaurant. A Rin Shi, a servant of Dai Shi which was definite proof that the malevolent dragon spirit was truly back, in the form of a praying mantis monster stormed the downtown area, terrorizing civilians with its power and army of lackeys.

He stepped back and allowed his students to rush off to help out, wanting to see for himself just what those guys could do. He took a deep breath to settle Togo’s fighting spirit as he felt the Wolf’s eagerness to join the battle rise within him.

_‘Easy’_ , RJ soothed Togo. _‘Not now, not yet.’_

_‘Hmph,’_ the Wolf spirit huffed. _‘Apparently being on the sidelines will be my own test.’_

_‘Our test,’_ RJ admitted as he made his way back into the kitchen to let Fran know what was going on and where he needed to be. After a brief kiss from his mate, RJ raced up the stairs to his chair and the bank of televisions that had eyes on various locations of the city his students were now charged to protect. He absently pet Smoky as he watched, Gouda’s munching on her food reaching his ears.

RJ winced as he took in his students’ performance. Their fighting skills were good, though admittedly the girl and Mr. Serious Guy’s abilities seemed to be better honed than the other guy’s. What was worse was that there was no unity in their movements, absolutely no harmony.

They weren’t fighting as a team.

RJ was out of his seat and down the stairs in less than a minute, shouting to his girlfriend that he would be back soon. He arrived just in time to see the poor girl get thrown into her friends who helped her as she staggered to her feet. His movements fluid, RJ stepped in front of his students, his intent to protect even if his stance belied a sort of loose ease.

“Whoa! Dude!” He told the monster while gesturing at it. “Step back!”

His muscles hummed with years of training and experience as he did a series of quick warm ups; an almost feral grin on his face as he finished silently introducing himself with a clawed hand that raked through the air. It took him less than two minutes to hand the army their asses to them. RJ finished the battle by charging up a hint of his spiritual energy and blasting them away.

That had felt good. It had been so long since RJ used his skills, not even for a proper spar; in that moment, RJ remembered just the kind of rush that he got when battling. The freedom, the joy, the fierce pride as he became one with his Wolf spirit and showed his opponents just what it was that he was made of, that it went leagues beyond his usual happy-go-lucky attitude.

Whirling around, a satisfied smile made its way across his lips as he took in his students’ awed expressions. “Can’t judge a book by its cover,” he playfully chided them while he rolled up his sleeve and revealed to them his Master’s tattoo.

“It’s you!” The less experienced kid enthused.

“You’re our new Master!” The girl beamed.

Even Mr. Serious Guy seemed happy by this sudden revelation.

Yet when they bowed to him, RJ immediately protested, having never been a fan of that one particular tradition. “Uh…just call me RJ,” He insisted. “Now, my students, if you don’t mind answering me one question…what are _your_ names?”

* * *

Casey, Lily, and Theo. Those were his students’ names. Names were good. It meant that RJ had something to call them beyond nicknames that were based off of first impressions. Names were also scary. It made this whole thing, them being his students, all the more real.

The trio were exploring his loft that would now be their new home and training area. Casey was thrilled with the foosball table and basketball hoop while Lily eagerly flipped through the channels on one of the few TVs that didn’t double as a city monitor. Over twelve hundred channels to explore would certainly keep her busy for a moment. Theo had surprised RJ when his normally serious expression softened at the sight of the cats; the boy had knelt and offered the cats his hand to sniff and get to know him. It had taken him less than a minute to earn their respect as well as their permission to be pet.

RJ smiled as he took the scene in, using their occupied minds as a moment to center and ground himself before calling them over to him. When they arrived, curiosity displayed on their faces, he spoke. “I thought we could use a little extra help in taking down a megalomaniac such as Dai Shi. Have you guys ever heard of the Power Rangers?”

Theo seemed to be the most excited about the prospect of being a Ranger though he immediately tried to downplay it. RJ couldn’t blame him; he would have reacted in the exact same way. He went on. “So I made a couple of phone calls to various connections and managed to find someone to help me get connected to the Morphing Grid.”

Without ceremony, RJ handed his students a pile of training uniforms with a pair of sunglasses which doubled as their morphers .They rested on top of the new clothes, which were in the primary colors; blue for Theo, yellow for Lily and red for Casey.

Casey gave him very slight pause. Not that RJ had any sort of doubt in his new student, but he could feel the doubt and discomfort that came from the young man himself. He didn’t believe that he deserved to be part of this fight; that he belonged there and as the red Ranger, was meant to lead.

Honestly, that doubt was something of a trait for some red Rangers.

RJ grinned at Casey, determined to show the kid that he was just as much a part of the team as Theo and Lily were. After all, RJ had experience in knowing what it felt like to not belong, to be deliberately targeted for being slightly different, thank you Dad. He wouldn’t let Casey face the same thing.

The televisions blared, screens switching to show that _______, back, stronger and uglier than ever. It was also worthy to note that he wasn’t alone. A statuesque woman with a severe visage, highlighted by her thickly lined ice blue eyes and blood red lips, her black tresses tightly braided and coiled into a vague representation of a tail strode ahead of him; her arrogance exuding from her like a billowing cape RJ was slightly surprised that she wasn’t wearing.

Ah. He wondered if this woman was Camille; the loyal, vicious general and right hand woman of Dai Shi. He supposed that it only made sense that if Dai Shi had returned that she would be at his side for this war as well.

“Looks like our friend is back,” Theo noted.

“And he’s brought a lot more company,” Lily put in.

As the two of them raced down the stairs, sunglasses clutched in their hands, Casey turned back to look at him. “RJ, aren’t you coming?”

He grinned and made his way over to the chair that he had already more or less scolded his students away from. As he plopped down into it, he waved Casey toward the door. “Not this time, my young cub, not just yet. You’ve got this, show Dai Shi what you’re made of.”

When Casey hesitated, RJ’s smile became warmer as he locked eyes with the newest red Ranger. “I believe in you, Casey.”

At his words, the light in Casey’s eyes became more determined as he marched down the stairs, sunglasses in hand as he went to go join his teammates. RJ glanced at the monitors and found himself both surprised and pleased to see Lily and Theo already morphed and taking the Rin Shi army on. Casey soon arrived on the scene but it seemed he couldn’t quite figure out how to unite with his animal spirit and activate his morpher.

RJ frowned and leaned back in his chair. Well, the kid would figure it out sooner or later, he knew that, sometimes the red Rangers were the last to morph of the main group of Rangers.

He just hoped that nobody suffered in the delay.

He also wished that he had brought snacks while he watched, like chips, ooh or even mozzarella sticks.

As his trio fought the army, Theo and Lily taking point while Casey struggled to keep up and figure out how to morph; RJ soon found himself grateful that he didn’t have any snacks on him for the monitor on the lower left-hand side revealed something that both made him incredibly proud and somewhat terrified.

A girl around Lily’s age had fallen to the ground in the middle of the struggle, about a block away from JKP. She was curled into a ball as she did her best not to be trampled by either the Rin Shi or the fleeing civilians. RJ wasn’t the only employee of JKP who had witnessed this.

Fran raced out of the restaurant, running to the girl’s side and gently coaxed her to her feet. Just as the girl straightened up, a Rin Shi materialized next to them. The girl screamed, but Fran, oh brave, sweet Fran merely glared up at the monster before turning and shielded the girl, taking a swipe to her upper arm that could have been so much worse if Casey hadn’t figured out how to morph just then.

* * *

With the red Ranger on the scene, Fran guided the girl into Jungle Karma Pizza and sat her down at an empty table. She got the girl a soda to calm her nerves, napkins to dry her eyes and offered to call someone to pick her up. Once the girl had settled herself, she assured Fran that her own cell phone worked just fine and that she would call her mother.

Fran smiled and gave the girl a gentle squeeze on her shoulder before making her way into the kitchen where she was all but ambushed by her frazzled boyfriend who pulled her into his arms, babbling about her being incredible, insane and that he wasn’t ever gonna let her go again.

* * *

RJ gently rubbed a balm over the scratch Fran endured when helping out the civilian she had saved. He was deeply relieved that it wasn’t serious and while she would be sore for a while, that would be the worst of it.

“Sorry I didn’t rely on your training back there,” Fran said sheepishly.

“Maybe that’s a good thing,” RJ mused as he placed gauze over the wound before wrapping it with a bandage. “If you had blocked like I had shown you, it could have been worse.”

“Really?”

RJ fixed his mate with a wry look. “Did you see the size of those claws?”

“No,” Fran snorted as she rolled down her sleeve. “I was trying to make sure that an innocent young woman wasn’t going to be hurt.”

When RJ got that look on his face that meant he was blaming himself, Fran frowned and gently lifted his chin, turning his head so they could lock eyes. “Hey now, what’s wrong? You’re not blaming yourself for this, are you?”

“Casey was right; I should’ve been out there.”

“RJ, you could have been there and that girl still could have been directly in harm’s way. I’m not going to sit completely on the sidelines during all of this. You’re the mentor to the Power Rangers and you know the risks, but so do I.”

Fran fixed him with a firm look. “I have _eyes,_ RJ. Even if I was completely in the dark about all of this, I would still do what I could to help someone if I know that they’re in danger and I have the capability to _do_ something.”

Her boyfriend pouted at her. “I usually love knowing that you’re right but this is one of the times when I’m definitely not a fan of that fact.”

She pressed a soft kiss to his forehead. “Deal with it.”

RJ huffed and leaned in for a kiss, his lips just brushing Fran’s when someone coughed awkwardly and asked, “Uh…isn’t that breaking…some set of rules?”

The couple abruptly pulled away from one another and turned to see Casey, Lily and Theo standing in the doorway to the kitchen, Casey having been the one to ask the question.

RJ seemed more annoyed that his kiss had been interrupted over the question Casey had asked. “What set of rules? The fact that Fran and I work together or the whole ‘big secret’ of Pai Zhuq?” He snorted. “Do you have any idea how many relationships the latter has ruined? I wasn’t about to do that to Fran and myself. Besides,” he went on blithely. “How else do you guys exist without your parents being in some sort of a relationship?”

He laughed when Fran shoved his shoulder, taking note of his students’ scarlet faces.

“He has a point,” Lily mumbled to her teammates, still somewhat mortified by her mentor’s blunt attitude.

RJ stood up, pulling Fran to her feet in one fluid motion. He had her face the kids and wrapped his arms around his waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. “Fran, this is Lily, Theo, and Casey,” he reintroduced, this time with names for the three. “Lily, Theo, and Casey, this is Fran, my _mate_.”

Fran waved shyly at his students, all three returning the gesture just as unsurely though Lily seemed to be a bit more relieved about having another girl nearby. Fran broke the silence by asking, “So what was it like being Rangers for the first time?”

* * *

Fran examined the pizza she had just pulled from the oven. It was the “smoked and crispy” combo. Not one of her best pizzas for she usually had trouble dancing the fine line between “smoked and crispy” and cartoonishly burnt. She sliced into the pizza and pulled out a piece, carefully examining the underside which usually gave her the most difficulties. As she continued to study the slice, Fran wasn’t overly aware of the other side of the pizza, not noticing hot, melted cheese that had started to ooze off of the tip of the pizza and dangled precariously over her head.

Luckily someone had her back. “Oh, be careful Fran!” Lily said as she darted over to Fran’s side and gently moved the pizza away from her head.

Refocusing on Lily and the pizza, Fran saw the cheese that was now hanging off the edge of the slice. “Whoops!” She laughed. “I might like pizza, but that doesn’t mean I want a mozzarella fringe.”

Lily grinned and shook her head. “Why were you looking at that pizza so intently?”

“I wanted to make sure that the bottom crust was well-done and not scorched,” Fran explained. “I guess I should have waited for the cheese to gel a little more as it cooled off.”

“Maybe a little,” Lily agreed. “Though I can’t really blame you for being impatient, I’m starving!”

“That’s right, you didn’t get to eat did you?”

“I don’t think Dai Shi is going to let us take meal breaks if we need them,” Lily said thoughtfully and Fran had to hold back a laugh at the sudden image of her new friends and co-workers randomly breaking out a picnic in the middle of a battle.

Instead she replied, “I thought RJ brought up a few pies for you to try not too long ago.”

“He did,” Lily confirmed. “He also asked me to check on you and I thought I could use a little girl time _especially_ if I have to live with a houseful of boys for the time being.”

“Luckily for you, I’m here every day.”

“You won’t hear me complaining.” Lily’s expression suddenly turned coy. “Or RJ, I’m guessing for that matter.”

Fran blushed and looked down at her pizza. “No…RJ definitely won’t be complaining,” she agreed. “But it’s not so much that I’m dating him as it is having someone to help him stay balanced while he focuses on being your Master and running JKP.”

“I feel like I’ve suddenly gotten a new older brother, if I’m being honest.”

“Already?”

“Yeah,” Lily admitted with a laugh. “I’m nervous about our first real training session with him. Thankfully he’s giving us a day or two to settle in; at most meditation and warm ups will be expected of us.”

“I think RJ is giving himself time too.”

Lily smiled but said nothing, suddenly growing shy. Fran frowned at the sudden change in her behavior and poked Lily on the shoulder. “What’s up? I may not be your mentor but that doesn’t mean you can’t confide in me.” She tapped Lily on the shoulder again. “You did seek _me_ out after all.”

Lily didn’t answer her right away, her countenance still shy as she tucked a loose blonde curl behind her ear and fiddled with her fingers as she gathered her courage. “You’re okay with this?” She blurted out. “Dating a Pai Zhuq Master?”

Fran blinked in surprise. Not so much her words, but rather, the desperation in her tone. “I will admit, I had no idea of any of this when RJ and I first started dating and I’m almost one hundred percent certain that if it wasn’t for Dai Shi’s return, RJ would have put off the conversation for a lot longer than he did, but yeah, I’m okay with this, scary circumstances and all.”

“I’m sorry we couldn’t protect you.”

“I’m pretty sure none of you expected me to be out there,” Fran snorted. “Least of all RJ and never mind my own expectations.” She refocused on Lily’s earlier question.

“Is there a reason why you’re asking me this? Are both of your parents Pai Zhuq warriors?”

Lily shook her head. “No, neither of them.” She shrugged. “I guess I just was wondering if it was possible for a Pai Zhuq warrior to have a relationship with someone who wasn’t part of the Order.”

Fran considered Lily’s thoughts as well as her own response before she gave it. “This has to stay between us,” She began, only continuing once Lily nodded. “But RJ’s mother knows and she’s not part of the Order.”

“She knows?”

“Mhm,” Fran nodded. “She isn’t married to RJ’s father anymore but RJ has assured me that it has nothing to do with Pai Zhuq. That being said, I’ve known for about a month and my own feelings for RJ haven’t changed one bit.”

She regarded the younger woman before asking; “Is there someone that you like? In or out of the Order?”

Lily snorted. “There’s hardly anyone outside of my family that I know well enough to even consider dating. As for within the Order…Theo’s practically my best friend and I only really just met Casey when this whole war began.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, he’s not as experienced as we are but he’s got one heck of a Tiger spirit and refused to allow himself to be cowed by a bully which was enough to impress Master Mao and have him team up with Theo and myself.”

“Whoa,” Fran breathed. This whole thing was, as her boyfriend would say, intense. “Well, no time like the present to get to know one another and strengthen your team bonds.”

Lily brightened at her words. “That’s true.”

Grinning, Fran picked up the cooled pie and gestured for Lily to lead the way. The blonde held the door open for her new manager before heading up the stairs into the loft. Fran laid the pizza next to the others that only half their slices left. Taking a piece of the RJ special for herself, Fran then seated herself next to her mate.

Silence rang through the room as everyone nibbled on their pizzas, Theo precariously keeping his pizza away from a curious Gouda while Casey allowed Smoky to groom the grease from his fingers, laughing at the odd sensation of her scratchy tongue. Fran leaned against RJ and decided to break the quiet.

“Tell me about Master Mao,” She requested of the newcomers.

“He was strict,” Theo began. “He could be stern, but he was also kind.”

“Even though he’d probably deny it, he was like everyone’s dad,” Lily said. RJ smiled softly and nodded at her words.

Casey was quiet, eyes unfocused as he tried to think of what he could contribute to the conversation. A moment passed before he finally added, “He saw the potential in others, even when they couldn’t… _still_ can’t…see it for themselves.” He took a breath before continuing, “If he were here, he would probably do what he could to get others to actually recognize that potential within.”

Fran glanced up at RJ. ‘ _Are you taking notes?_ ’ She silently asked.

As if he was aware of her thoughts, RJ wrapped his arm around her shoulders before raising his slice in a toast. “To Master Mao!”

“To Master Mao!” Lily called out with enthusiasm, Theo echoing her with a bemused grin.

“To Master Mao,” Casey added, slightly more sober than his friends.

“To Master Mao,” Fran said, her tone respectful as she tapped her slice against her boyfriend’s.

The atmosphere lightened as the Rangers swapped stories about their experiences with the late Master, some humorous, some filled with wisdom and some involving disciplinary action following being busted for teenage shenanigans. When those were started, RJ threw in his own tales of mischief and escapades, laughing at the memory of exasperated fondness that was often found in Master Mao’s eyes.

After the pizzas were polished off and the stories finished, RJ stood from his chair and stretched. “Now if any of you aren’t too full, I can think of one activity we can all do before we hit the hay.”

“Wait, we’re not gonna watch television?” Theo asked.

“I mean if you want to, you can,” RJ said. “But one of the televisions is gonna be devoted to something else.” He turned to Fran and winked. She pretended to sigh, standing up and stretched.

RJ faced his students once more. “I thought we could test your agility and endurance…” He laughed at their sounds of annoyance. “…With a few rounds of Dance Dance Revolution!”

Lily leapt to her feet. “I’m in!”

Casey surprised them by standing up. “Me too.”

Theo made a face. “I’m not the best at dancing…”

“Oh me either,” Fran reassured him. “That doesn’t take away from the fun though!”

“We can put it on easy mode,” RJ offered, holding his hand up to silence Lily and Casey when they booed.

Theo made a face at his friends before standing up. “Okay, but only because this will be the most fun type of training I’ve ever had—”

“It’s not exactly training,” RJ admitted.

“—But if it means I stand a chance at taking on Lily and Casey, then I’m in.”

Lily feigned hurt. “Theo! I thought we were friends!”

“All’s fair in love and war,” Fran pointed out with a laugh, not noticing Theo’s blush at her words.

Casey playfully shoved the Jaguar Ranger. “Bring it on, dude.”

“Oh I will,” Theo assured him.

RJ moved toward the television bank, snatching up the remote that would allow him to activate the game while Fran went off in search of the dance mat. “Then let the games begin!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh thank heavens, this story finally updated! Just shy of two months later! I just could not get inspired! I also couldn’t remember the premier episodes! Though I must admit, having this chapter largely in RJ’s perspective does help.
> 
> Was Fran meant to rush off to help a civilian? Nope. Not at all. Did my imagination suggest that as a possibility and I decided to roll with it anyway? Absolutely.
> 
> My favorite thing writing this chapter is the fact that Togo is a little shit. So is RJ. >:3(
> 
> I’m not sure what the next chapter will be, but I do know that it’s based off of Sigh of the Tiger and will give Fran’s perspective a little more attention. Especially when things begin to hint to being out of the ordinary…y’all do remember the gift from her mother, right?


	10. Sigh of the Manager

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we shift more away from canon as we start getting Fran a little more involved with the war than any of them would have expected. Just a hint this chapter though.

_Fran laid on her back in a lush rainforest, damp grass cooling her form. She breathed in the cold, pure air, feeling the air she breathed out return to the essence of the wilderness surrounding her. She was distantly aware of the presence of a source of water nearby though she could not discern if it was a river or a waterfall for the sounds of wildlife echoed all around her, drowning out nearly all other sound._

_The sounds however, it wasn’t mere noise. They were cries. Cries for help, pleas and commands that she should rise up and help them. She felt this in her heart and in her soul. The spirits of the animal realm needed her._

_Yet she couldn’t move._

_Fran was only aware of all that surrounded her. But something was keeping her from rising, from joining the battle. A gentle refrain that kept her in place. A lullaby of sorts that spun through her mind and body though it wasn’t of words or even music, just a feeling._

_It wasn’t her time, not now, not yet. But soon._

_Soon._

Fran’s eyes snapped open as she sat up in her bed with a gasp. Well that had been one hell of a bizarre dream! It felt all too real, like she had actually been lying in the grass, her skin damp and her body weighted down by the mere _notion_ that it wasn’t yet time for her to rise.

It took several moments of deep breaths and concentration for the wailing of the animals to recede to recesses of her mind. She shivered; unsettled by the genuine emotion she had felt from the spirits, desperate to not let it overwhelm her. Her fingers were knotted in her blanket, white-knuckled with tension.

She closed her eyes and took another deep breath before she finally began to feel centered, grateful that RJ had insisted that an hour’s worth of meditation and breathing techniques be part of their training. Maybe he would have insight to her dream as well. With this thought in mind, Fran reached for her cell phone and was about to call her boyfriend when her amber eyes onto snagged her digital clock which cheerfully informed her that she was running late.

Squeaking in alarm, Fran sprang from her bed and quickly darted about her apartment, getting ready for her day, spurred on by the thought that not only was she never late and as a manager she felt that she had an example to lead by, but by the fact that she was running behind on the day that she was to run her first birthday party.

RJ would be there. She knew this and was comforted by that; feeling somewhat selfishly grateful that her mate didn’t have quite the active role in the war beyond being a mentor just yet.

He could join the battlefield once she no longer needed him to hold her hand when facing a crowd of customers—sugar high unruly children in this case.

As Fran raced out her door, echoes of animal sounds becoming a mere memory, she never noticed that the crystal yin yang pendant her mother had given her was glittering brighter than ever.

It was all but glowing.

* * *

RJ stood in the center of his loft, all furniture pushed away to give him and his students the maximum amount of space for training. He bounced lightly on his bare feet, feeling the thick training mat beneath them. His eyes were hidden by a swatch of fabric as he prepared to spar with his students using the Swoop technique—a practice that he was still surprised that Fran had managed to nail its basic procedures within seconds; in theory in any case.

He cast out his senses and was able to find Lily and Casey circling him methodically, both confident and full of anticipation. “Listen up young dude and dudette; this session will be a test to see how well you work with your animal spirits.”

“He’s all ours, Lily,” Casey called out, his voice assured.

Lily on the other hand, was concerned about how their potential victory might harm their mentor’s ego. “But RJ, I don’t want to damage your metaphysical Zen!”

RJ grinned, figuring that she was referring to the fact that he was blindfolded while she and Casey were not. “Not to worry, kiddo. I’m going to be relying on the Swoop technique.

“Eyesight’s a bonus, not a necessity,” he intoned.

“Now,” he drew his hands behind his back, shifting his entire stance to his dominant leg and adding to the air of a challenge. “Hit me with your best shot.”

Well, if one thing could be said about the entire exercise, it was that his students had certainly _tried._

They were fast and they were relentless, but they were also overconfident and sloppy. RJ was hard pressed not to feel lazy as he blocked and pushed his students back. The fact that they let out loud, assertive cries that gave away their positions with every single movement definitely didn’t help them. He wondered if they even knew of the foundation of the Swoop technique, was that a lesson ever given to them back at the Academy?

Best not to let them know that Fran had figured everything out in a matter of seconds and all he had to say was ‘bat spirit’, RJ mused with an inward snicker.

Ah, apparently Casey had caught on to some of the method after all for RJ noted that Lily’s cry of pain—oops—had quickly been silenced. At least they understood that being quiet did add to the element of surprise. But that wasn’t all that the Swoop technique could do. The only downfall to this whole thing was that RJ hadn’t realized that he had all but thrown his student into his speaker tower until he heard the large piece of equipment groan slightly as it was knocked off balance. Moving quickly, RJ caught the tower and righted it before resuming the fight.

It was over in less than a minute with Casey being tossed into RJ’s chair and RJ taking advantage of Lily’s expression of sympathy with only a hint of guilt as he knocked her off her feet as well. Perhaps that had been a bit mean of him but there was still a lesson to be imparted on his cubs.

“You were distracted and defeated,” he informed them as he swept off his blindfold, taking note of Lily nodding in agreement out of the corner of his eyes. “Remember guys, the enemy is going to be relentless with no shows of mercy. You need to focus on being true partners for your animal spirits, not just a host while also needing to be fluid and graceful just like—”

He slammed into the training mat face first as he tripped while completely absorbed in his lecture. Determined to save face, he quickly popped up and finished his sentence as cheerfully as possible. “Me!” Ignoring the looks of glee on their faces, RJ instructed the pair to meditate on what they had learned during the spar while he happily collapsed into his chair.

A brand new episode of Judge Jaime was coming on just in time.

* * *

“You know hanging this sign would be a lot easier if we had someone to guide us,” Theo remarked as he balanced on a ladder, trying to ensure that his half of the birthday banner that he and Fran held were in equal in height.

“True, but RJ’s training the others right now,” Fran replied. “I don’t know how long that will take.”

She squinted as she took in the banner corner she held and compared it to the one Theo had. “A little higher on your side, I think.”

“How much higher?”

“About two inches.”

Theo moved his half of the banner and pinned it in place. Once he saw that Fran had done the same thing, he hopped off of his ladder before glancing up and rolling his eyes. “Fran, it’s actually too low on your side now.”

“By how much?”

“Two inches,” he replied with a smirk.

Shaking her head, Fran moved her side of the banner and waited for confirmation that both sides were now even. Seeing Theo’s thumbs up, she pinned the banner and stepped down off of the ladder. “Well, the hard part’s done,” she said with a satisfied smile. She offered Theo a high five, who clapped his hand against hers. “Next up, tying balloons to a few of these chairs.”

“Thank goodness Daniel’s mom already dropped off filled balloons,” Theo said as he went over to where the balloons floated by the stairs. “I don’t know how to knot them.”

“I do, but they’re a big pain.”

Splitting the balloons into small bunches to be tied around several chairs, the pair went to work, moving in silence, careful to not let the balloons hit the fluorescent lights where the nylon could heat up and pop the oval shape. Nearly ten minutes passed before Theo tied down his last bunch of balloons. Glancing up, he was surprised to see that Fran had stopped working after tying down two balloon arrangements. What was more concerning was the completely faraway look in her eyes mingled with a hint of fear that told the young Ranger what was going on in his manager’s head was more than mere daydreaming.

“Fran?” He asked as he made his way over to her. He gently waved a hand in front of her face. She didn’t blink and she certainly didn’t register his presence.

His concern grew. He called her name, louder this time as he shook her shoulder, wondering if he should grab RJ when the physical contact proved to be enough to snap Fran from her trace.

“What?” Fran blinked and looked at both the balloons in her hand and the confused employee standing before her. She shook her head and forced the echoes of animal cries from her mind. “Oh…sorry, Theo…I guess I zoned out.”

“That’s one way of putting it,” Theo agreed. “Are you okay? What happened? Do you need me to get RJ? Should you sit down?”

“One question at a time,” she laughed as she tied the balloons down. “I had a really bizarre dream last night and I guess my subconscious wasn’t quite done dwelling on it which is why I kinda checked out there. I should probably talk to someone about it if it keeps happening but for now I’m going to finish with these balloons.” She took in his finished half. “It’s not fair to you if I don’t.”

“They’re just balloons, Fran,” Theo pointed out with a shrug. “I’d be fine. Are you sure you don’t want to sit down? Can I get you some water?”

“I guess a water bottle won’t hurt.” She smiled her thanks and continued to work on the balloon arrangements. 

Theo kept a wary eye on Fran as he slipped toward the kitchen. She seemed fine for the moment, completely absorbed in her work with the balloons as her mind remained in the present. As he entered the kitchen and headed for the personal fridge where water bottles were kept, he vowed to at least tell RJ that Fran had an unusual dream that might have affected her on more than a waking level.

Theo may not have been one of the most socially or emotionally apt people but even _he_ knew one thing; whatever Fran was going through…

She didn’t have to suffer alone.

* * *

RJ sighed silently as he did his best to tune out Casey’s attempts to get his attention. The kid was supposed to be meditating alongside Lily, not interrupting his TV time. If he had to take a wild guess, he figured that Casey was looking for a little one on one tutoring to help him fine tune his technique. The Tiger Ranger himself had mentioned during his first night there that he hadn’t been a student of the Order for as long as Lily and Theo had been. Later on, Theo had brought up privately that Casey didn’t awaken his Tiger spirit until the day Dai Shi had been broken out of his prison.

Well, late bloomers within the Order of the Claw weren’t exactly uncommon; however they were more or less at war, Casey at the helm of it all as the Red Ranger. RJ supposed that Casey’s lack of formal training as well as his insecurities as the leader needed to be addressed. He sat up straighter in his chair as he made his decision. Fine, he would help Casey. But he would do so his way which would probably be in the least traditional sense as possible.

Glancing at his student, he gestured for the kid to move behind him. “Rub my shoulders.”

Casey stared at him in complete bewilderment. “Come again?”

“You heard me,” RJ answered. “Rub my shoulders. The action will…aid you in finding purchase should you need to leap over an enemy to get to your teammates or take down a bigger enemy.”

_‘Not to mention it should help get rid of all the knots you put there just by pestering me when I said I was going to be taking a **break**.’_

“Shouldn’t your girlfriend be doing this?” Casey asked sardonically as he clapped his hands on RJ’s shoulders, mentally disregarding his ‘lesson’. “She’s right downstairs; want me to go get her?”

“Fran’s busy,” Came the response. “She and Theo are still setting up for the birthday party scheduled for this afternoon. Besides, this is training, not pleasure.” Admittedly, the shoulder rub did feel good, not that he would be telling his student that any time soon.

“I didn’t need to hear that.”

“Get your hormonal mind out of the gutter and you won’t have that problem.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

RJ was about to fire off a reprimand when Theo poked his head in from the stairway. His gaze landed on the master and student pair and he shook his head. “Not even going to ask.” He then turned to Lily. “Wanna help me out with this delivery? We’ve got just enough time to go there and back before the birthday party starts.”

“Sure thing!” Lily beamed as she unfolded herself from her meditative pose, grateful to be stretching her legs.

“Uh…not so fast you two,” RJ called from where his eyes were glued to the television bank. “Camille’s apparently going for the museum heist trope. You’re gonna have to take care of that first.”

“On it!” The two ran down the stairs with Casey hot on their trail. RJ in the meantime snapped up his laptop, connecting it to the video feed in the hopes to keep an eye on his students while relieving Fran of her work so she could make the delivery in Theo and Lily’s stead.

* * *

Fran stared in alarm as she watched Lily and Theo support an injured Casey between them while the trio made their way back toward the restaurant. Slamming the car door shut, she raced ahead to open the door to the employee entrance to make things easier on them.

“Thanks, Fran,” Lily said as she and Theo slipped past her, carefully maneuvering their little line inside.

“What happened?!”

It was Casey who managed to answer her. “My fault,” he grunted, gritting his teeth as a wave of pain rose through his head. “I thought I could handle Camille and went after her alone. She quickly showed me why that was a bad idea.”

Before Fran could give some sort of a response, RJ materialized in front of them. “Happens to the best of us,” he announced, throwing Theo a cursory glare before the young man could make some sort of statement that would embarrass Casey. “You two,” he addressed Lily and Theo. “Take Casey upstairs and let him rest on the hammock. I take it you both know the signs of a concussion?”

“We do,” Lily assured him as she and Theo ushered Casey up the stairs.

Fran turned to RJ, her mouth working, but she had no idea what to say, never having expected to see one of them so banged up. She abruptly swallowed against the rising horror of wondering if either her cousin or his team had ever suffered like that.

“Guess I better brush up on my first aid,” She finally managed in a somewhat breathless tone, still shocked by what she had just seen.

RJ frowned at her in concern. “You okay?”

“Yeah, just…surprised I guess.” A shame filled look crossed her face as she continued. “As a civilian…as someone who grew up admiring the Power Rangers, I always saw them as a type of superhero…I never really processed that they could get hurt, badly even.”

RJ merely squeezed her shoulder in sympathy, not daring to inform her that there have been Rangers who died in battle. She didn’t need to shoulder that burden.

He could only pray that she never would.

Drawing Fran into the kitchen, RJ said, “Okay, so the kiddos should be here in about twenty minutes, there’s another delivery waiting but I’m going to send Lily and Theo on that in a hands-on approach for them to get to know the city a bit better. Thankfully there’s only one delivery so they should be back to help you before things have a chance to get insane. I’m going to be with Casey, making sure his injuries aren’t too bad and if they’re not, have him do a little one-on-one training.”

He sighed and continued, “Guess he really needed that extra training he asked for. And here I thought it was just a psychological thing.”

“It kinda is,” Fran pointed out as she moved to grab an apron. “Casey got it into his head that he could take on Dai Shi’s right hand woman. Something tells me that came from the fact that he’s the red Ranger and the leader.”

“Hmm,” RJ mulled his thoughts over. “I think there’s going to be one way of making Case feel better about this and it’s going to require for me to draw on a lot of my courage of the Wolf.”

“Which is?”

RJ looked at his mate with a super serious expression on his face, his voice grave as he replied, “Sharing embarrassing anecdotes from my time at the Academy.”

Fran bit down hard on a smile though RJ could clearly see the laughter in her eyes. “Yeah, I’d say that’s one way to help him.”

RJ pressed a kiss to her hand before heading toward the door. “I promise I’ll be down periodically to help out with the party.”

She waved away his worry. “I’ll have Lily and Theo with me, I’ll be fine. Go help Casey.”

“What if I want your company though?”

She rolled her eyes at the pout in his voice. “Then I guess I’ll just have to deal,” she sighed in mock annoyance.”

He grinned. “See you soon, princess.”

“Until then, rogue.”

* * *

“Well at least we only made one wrong turn,” Lily cheerfully said as she and Theo walked away from their delivery destination. “And Mrs. Garcia was so nice about it.”

“Something tells me that was thanks to you,” Theo remarked as he looked at the covered plate that Lily held, knowing that freshly baked churros were underneath. “I don’t think either Casey or myself would have gotten that type of treatment.”

“You might be surprised,” Lily returned, a wistful expression coming across her face. “Besides, I think the reason why Mrs. Garcia was so lively was because she doesn’t seem to have anyone living with her. I think she’s lonely.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah, I do.”

As the pair entered the jeep, Lily held out the plate to Theo. “Want one?”

“Maybe later, we should be getting back to JKP and help Fran out with that party.”

“Frannie will be fine if we’re a few minutes late,” Lily countered. “Any and all kids I’ve seen her interact with at the restaurant seem to love her. Besides, you and I haven’t had much time just the two of us lately and that’s including time at the Academy.”

Theo hesitated. Lily was right, the two of them hadn’t had much time together and she was his best friend. On the other hand, they had a job to do and Theo knew that it wasn’t right to leave Fran hanging to handle a dozen six year olds all on her own, especially because she was their manager. A delay wouldn’t look good in her eyes. However the look in Lily’s eyes had his resolve crumbling fast.

“Please, Theo?”

The wheedling tone in her voice wasn’t helping matters either. At all.

He let out a huge sigh. “Fine, but only for ten minutes, Lils.”

“Ten minutes,” she agreed and her sunny smile had Theo thinking that maybe the delay was worth it after all.

* * *

“ _Where the hell **are** those two?!” _ Fran thought furiously to herself as she tried her best not to end up as a Maypole for a group of laughing and shrieking children who ran about the restaurant, the few parents in attendance as chaperones not doing too much to settle them down.

She held tightly onto a plate of hot mozzarella sticks as she delicately made her way around the vibrant party goers, trying her best not to trip before finally placing the plate on a nearby table. She found herself holding back laughter as she was immediately surrounded by excited children who all dove after the mozzarella sticks before rushing off to play once more.

Seeing that the kids had accidentally spilled the marinara sauce that had come with the appetizer, Fran heaved a silent sigh as she wiped it up, wondering for the umpteenth time on the whereabouts of Lily and Theo. She was immediately brought out of her annoyed thoughts as a little girl no older than six accidentally slammed into her side. “Oof!”

“Oops!” The little girl squeaked, her eyes wide in surprise. “I’m sorry Miss!”

“That’s okay,” Fran reassured her as she knelt down to the girl’s height. “But maybe you could slow down a little bit for me? This is a restaurant and there’s not much room for everyone to run about. I don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

“Okay,” the girl agreed with a nod. “I can tell the others.”

“Thank you,” Fran beamed. Winking, she added, “I’ll make sure you get the first slice of pizza after the birthday boy.”

That caused the young party goer to light up. “Thank you!” She made to run off before pausing and looked back at Fran. “I’m Chelsea,” she informed her. She then asked a question with the blithe ease that was somewhat typical of a six year old. “Can we be friends?”

“Sure!” Fran held out a hand. “I’m Francesca, but my friends usually call me Fran.”

“Can I call you Francesca? It sounds so grown up!”

Fran laughed and gently ruffled Chelsea’s blonde curls. “Sure.”

“Thanks!” She then darted off to go inform her friends so slow down but Fran knew that deep down it wouldn’t make much of a difference. She needed to find a way to keep them entertained so she could finally throw the pizzas in the oven.

Tapping her lip with one finger in thought, Fran glanced about the room wondering how she could settle a dozen first graders without interrupting her boyfriend’s training session when it hit her. Daniel’s mother had brought in a piñata. That would do wonderfully.

Grateful that it had already been rigged up by some of the parents, Fran put her fingers to her lips and let out a shrill whistle that immediately got the party’s attention. “Hey guys! Who’s up for some piñata fun?”

The kids rushed over to her, a couple of parents following them in a silent offer of assistance. Smiling gratefully, Fran handed over a blindfold and the small plastic baseball bat the birthday boy’s mother had provided to hit the toy with. Seeing that everyone was happily distracted, Fran slipped into the kitchen and began placing several pies into the oven. As she did so, an idea for another game came to mind, one that was a twist on a party classic.

She just needed to remember where RJ kept his art supplies.

Speaking of the devil, RJ walked into the kitchen to check on Fran. “Hey babe, how’s everything going?”

“Going well,” she told him with a smile as she closed the oven door. “How’s Casey doing?”

“He’s sleeping so those stories are going to have to wait a bit.” He grinned as Fran turned back to him and noted that she had a smudge of marinara sauce on her cheek. “You’re looking a little saucy there princess.”

“Oh, I was cleaning up a spill and I guess I didn’t wipe the excess off my hand.”

She reached up to clean off her face when RJ surprised her by kissing her cheek and managing to get a bit of the sauce off before thumbing away the rest. He then closed the gap between them in a soft, sweet kiss. Fran happily returned the kiss before pulling away and did her best not to give into his pout at how brief it had been. “I do have a party to run,” she reminded him with a gentle poke to his chest.

“How have Lily and Theo been with helping you?”

Fran nearly scowled at the question. “They still haven’t come back from the delivery run you sent them on earlier.”

RJ was shocked. “But that was nearly two hours ago! They couldn’t have gotten lost for this long, could they?”

“Possibly?”

“Why didn’t you come get me to help you?”

“I didn’t want to interrupt your training with Casey and I was trying not to get trampled by the stampede of elementary schoolers.”

“I suppose that’s fair,” RJ conceded. “Anything I can do to assist you?”

“Actually, I was wondering if you had any art supplies on hand? Specifically any big sheets of paper. I had an idea for a game to entertain the kids with because they’re currently playing with a piñata and they’re going to need something to get their energy out after the subsequent sugar and carb intake they’ll most likely have.”

“Yeah, I’ll go get those for you.” RJ then pulled out his cell phone. “And I’m going to find out where the hell Theo and Lily are.”

Fran brushed her lips against his. “Thank you.”

“Anytime,” he grinned before going off on his search of art supplies while Fran turned back to start rotating pizzas.

* * *

RJ snapped his phone shut after snapping at his distracted students to return to the restaurant immediately, effectively cutting off their sheepish apologies about losing track of time. He wasn’t the one they needed to apologize to necessarily. _She_ was in the restaurant, running the whole show in a solo act. RJ calmed himself slightly as he recalled the pride he felt as Fran cheerfully informed him that she was going to create a “Pin the Topping on the Slice” game for the kids to play after they ate their pizza. Apparently the winner was going to get the first slice of cake after the birthday boy received his.

 _‘She’s so dang clever’_ , RJ thought proudly as he made his way up the stairs to check on Casey. He was greeted by the sound of metal clacking against metal and saw that his still-emotionally sore student was taking out his frustrations with the earlier battle on the foosball table. “How’s it going against yourself? Who’s in the lead?”

“Not my self-confidence, that’s for sure,” Casey grumbled as he pulled the spinner a little too hard and sent the ball flying out of the table.

“Huh, didn’t think that could happen,” RJ commented as he went to fetch the small metal sphere.

Rolling the ball in his hands, RJ regarded Casey contemplatively. “Fran thinks you went after Camille because you believed it was your duty as the red Ranger to do so. Is that true?”

Casey shrugged one shoulder. “Partially, I guess,” the younger man admitted. “The other fact of the matter is beyond retrieving that artifact she had stolen, I just wanted her to shut up.”

“So this _is_ psychological.”

“Excuse me?”

“Camille get into your head, I take it?”

Letting out a heavy sigh that belied his emotional exhaustion, Casey replied noncommittally, “I guess.”

“You know,” RJ began, tossing the foosball between his two hands. “I had my own moments of arrogance back at the Academy.”

“I wasn’t being arro—“

RJ held up a hand, silencing Casey’s retort. “You were overconfident, thinking that you could handle the soldier beneath Dai Shi himself on your own. You might be the leader of the Power Rangers but you’re still _part_ of the _team_.”

“As I was saying,” RJ went on. “I too suffered from bouts of overconfidence while I was a student. There was this one student named Gabriel who had the Swan spirit. He was three years older than me but I thought I was the better warrior just because I had the Wolf spirit.”

RJ closed his eyes and grimaced as he recalled the spars he’d had with Gabriel years ago. “Needless to say I’d completely forgotten that swans are both graceful _and_ vicious creatures. Never mind all the times Master Swoop would cheerfully throw me into the ground as I learned his technique.”

Opening his eyes, the Wolf Master saw the beginnings of a smile on Casey’s face. Even if it was at his expense, it was a start.

“I don’t get it,” Casey confessed, though the look on his face told RJ that he was talking more to himself than he was to his teacher. “I had no problem facing that asshole Jarrod when I wasn’t even aware that I possessed the Tiger spirit; how am I supposed to take down Camille as a Power Ranger?”

“Well for starters, I had to break it to you kid, but Camille has thousands of years on you,” RJ answered him absently before his mind snagged on a name Casey had mentioned seconds earlier. “Wait…did you just say, ‘Jarrod’?”

Casey nodded warily. “Yeah…why, do you know him?”

“He was my roommate back at the Academy. I’m a bit surprised you’re labelling him as an ‘asshole’. Sure he kept to himself, but he wasn’t too bad of a guy.”

“You did graduate years ago,” Casey pointed out. “People can change. But yeah, he treated me like crap on the day of the Guardian selection and wound up getting thrown out by Master Mao.”

“Ooh, he must not have taken that well. He was exceptionally dedicated to his studies and life path.”

“He _didn’t_ take it well,” Casey confirmed. “He actually came back and unleashed his Lion spirit which was fueled by his wrath on Master Mao. I don’t really remember how, it’s pretty blurry, but in the chaos of it all, Dai Shi was freed and Jarrod ran off. Master Mao died not long after that.”

RJ grimaced as he finally learned how Master Mao died. “Why do I have a feeling that Jarrod’s a lot more involved in this than we realize?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that Dai Shi was captured thousands of years ago. Dai Shi is an evil entity, yes, but he’s also a spirit himself.”

Casey stared at his mentor in shock. “You think that Dai Shi possessed Jarrod, don’t you?”

RJ nodded; a grim look on his face. “I do.”

Actually, this conversation with Casey made RJ realize that he had been right in thinking that a student would possibly be responsible in unleashing Dai Shi and that Master Mao had helped orchestrate the events leading up to it.

_‘I will only be present for the event that is the catalyst to this battle.’_

Master Mao had predicted…no, he had _known_ what was going to happen all along.

Groaning loudly as he ran a hand over his face, RJ allowed himself to feel completely annoyed with the late Master before looking at his student with determination blazing in his eyes. “C’mon, Case. It’s time we upped your training. Let me introduce you to this weapon I’ve been working on.”

* * *

 _Well, I **definitely** didn’t think RJ’s unorthodox training was going to work!’_ Casey thought to himself with no small amount of smugness as he watched Camille land hard on her back having been tossed by the Tiger Ranger himself.

With the Chameleon out of the fight for the time being, Casey decided it was the ideal opportunity to up the fight and go after Buffalord with his new ride thanks to RJ. “Strike Rider!” He called out, reaching out into the ether with his Tiger spirit to call upon the black and orange motorcycle.

Leaping neatly onto the vehicle, Casey immediately felt a rush of adrenaline along with an echo of primal pride that flowed from his Tiger spirit. _‘Aw yeah!_ ’ He charged forward, heading right toward the Rin Shi soldier.

“High speed!”

* * *

Pleased to have seen that Casey had taken his lessons to heart and that his student had regained his self-confidence as a result, remembering that he was a team player, RJ had a bounce in his step as he made his way down the stairs to check on Fran, whistling as he went.

He grinned as he watched the children wave goodbye to Fran, calling out in thanks as they exited with their parents, their little faces and hands smudged with frosting and cake crumbs, their eyes alight with joy and possibly the beginnings of a sugar high.

RJ wished those parents luck.

A blonde little girl wrapped her arms around Fran’s waist in a quick hug before running off to her mother calling out, “Bye bye Francesca!”

He bit down a laugh at the use of his girlfriend’s full first name. It would seem that she had made a friend.

Fran in the meantime, picked up the broom she had leaned against a booth to say goodbye to Chelsea and continued to sweep up the party mess consisting of streamers, confetti and crumbs. She hummed a tune under her breath as she moved about the floor, correcting any stumbles she made so it almost seemed like she was performing a waltz.

A startled squeak escaped her when the broom was suddenly taken from her hands and was replaced with one of RJ’s hands as his other one went about her waist. “May I have this dance?" He asked her as he moved them about the room.

“I suppose so,” Fran agreed with a laugh as RJ guided her into an easy box step.

He noted that she was slightly covered in glitter and colorful dust with a few thin strands of ribbon gracing her hair. “I see you’re no longer saucy, but do you mind telling me what this new look is about?”

“What, you don’t like ‘party chic’?” Fran kidded.

“It certainly is a look.”

“I got caught between a few of those party crackers,” Fran explained as RJ paused their dance to gently brush some of the dust from her cheek and nose.

“It would seem that the kids had a good time then.”

“They had a _great_ time,” Fran iterated, feigning arrogance. She laughed when her boyfriend pretended to be shocked by her bold words and tone. She grinned when he silenced her laughter with a kiss, returning it eagerly.

“That’s still weird, you know.”

Leaping back at Casey’s voice once again interrupting their kiss, Fran and RJ took note of the three Rangers standing awkwardly by the host stand. Fran narrowed her eyes at Theo and Lily. “And just where were you two?” She demanded; her voice sharp with reproof. “I know the route to Mrs. Garcia’s by heart and it should have only been a ten minute roundtrip, fifteen if you want to include traffic, a half hour at _most_ if you want to include a grace period for getting lost.”

“Sorry, Fran,” Lily apologized with a definite note of chagrin in her voice and facial expression. “Theo and I were just taking a little time to catch up and I guess we just…lost track of time,” she finished lamely.

“That time wasn’t yours to take,” RJ reproached. “You two were still on the clock and you didn’t even bother to call Fran to let her know that you were running late. Don’t try to convince me otherwise, I know you didn’t.”

Lily stared down at her shoes while Theo held out a paper plate in an attempted peace offering. “Churro?”

RJ and Fran stared at him with matching deadpan expressions. Casey on the other hand, snorted and snatched the plate from his teammate, popping a churro in his mouth.

“I should take the money for the hours not worked from your paychecks,” RJ said.

Fran placed a hand on his arm in a gesture meant to placate as she noted twin flinches from the wayward employees. “I’ll settle for them cleaning up this mess.”

“Good idea.” RJ nodded toward the broom and mop bucket. “Get to work.”

Lily wordlessly slipped past her bosses and made for the broom as Theo stepped up to Fran. “Can I talk to you about something?”

She looked confused. “Um, don’t you want to aim that question at your mentor?”

Theo shook his head, keeping his eyes on her. “No, I mean you.” He darted a furtive look at RJ before returning his gaze to Fran and lowered his voice. “Alone.”

“Ooh-kay?”

She shrugged at RJ before gesturing for Theo to follow her into the kitchen. “What’s up?”

Theo bit his lip, trying to figure out how to broach the subject he wanted to bring up. “Do you think you should tell RJ about your…moment earlier?”

Fran frowned at him and crossed her arms. “My moment?”

“When you zoned out. You were gone, Fran. Deep within your mind and I don’t know if you were aware of this, but you looked scared to me. Seems like something your boyfriend might be able to help you out with. Or at the very least provide some emotional support.”

Fran winced, having forgotten that Theo witnessed her getting caught up in the memories of her dream. “I see your point.”

“You don’t have to talk to RJ right away, but maybe soon.”

She opened her mouth but was interrupted by the presence of Casey who bounced into the kitchen. “C’mon, Fran!” he called to her. “RJ says we’re getting ice cream to celebrate today’s victories!”

“He’s really got a bad habit of interrupting me,” Fran grumbled under her breath. Her words did not go unheard by Theo who bit his lip in a desperate attempt to smother his laughter.

Clearing his throat, Theo lightly patted Fran on the shoulder. “You’ll find the time to talk to RJ soon,” he assured her. “In the meantime, I better go help Lily with clean up.”

“Yeah you better,” Fran replied, not quite able to stop the snarkiness from sneaking into her tone, still annoyed that they had abandoned her to handle the birthday party on her own.

With a smile that was more of an embarrassed grimace, Theo exited the kitchen in search of the mop bucket. Fran sighed at the weight of the conversation she would need to have with RJ in the near future. Hopefully he would be able to puzzle out her bizarre dream. Or at the very least, Togo could provide some insight through the Wolf Master. In the meantime there was an ice cream sundae out there with her name on it and she was determined to enjoy every delicious bite.

She left the kitchen and found RJ and Casey waiting for her by the door. She smiled at the boys, looping her arm through RJ’s and headed out the door.

Fran never noticed the supernatural shine to her crystal pendant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo…I more or less watched Sigh of the Tiger after I wrote certain scenes? The shoulder rub, for example. I genuinely thought that was part of training but I’m 99% sure that was just RJ taking Casey for a ride because he was somewhat sore after the spar.
> 
> Second example, my reasoning for Lily and Theo abandoning Fran was vastly different from the show’s. Here I’m kinda fast tracking the Lily/Theo pairing while the episode showed the two taking one look at the party’s chaos and straight up deciding not to get involved. Likely that Fran could handle it herself. *grabs megaphone* COWARDS!!!! Your apology was half-assed and weak and you really shouldn’t have looked so shocked when RJ had you two clean up the restaurant. Y’all had it coming. Shame.
> 
> I don’t really like writing action scenes; I’m pretty bad at it. So apologies if you want more, I can try better in the future. ^^’
> 
> I know RJ and Casey don’t really have that talk and RJ has that revelation on Jarrod but I wanted the two to bond and I thought it would happen a little more realistically if RJ actually talked to the kid instead of ignoring him while he struggled to fix the recliner…then had to deal with a smelly towel. XD Man, I forgot about the secondhand embarrassment of this show! XD XD

**Author's Note:**

> I also don't own When Harry Met Sally which is what this chapter title is a play off of. We're going to take things a tad slow. Friendship first, then their relationship begins and then the Power Rangers arrive!


End file.
